Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by Martingale Asset Management L P

Martingale Asset Management L P lowered its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 8.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 75,156 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 6,631 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $12,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $213,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304,372 shares during the period. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter valued at $219,537,000. ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $114,107,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 980.3% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 684,718 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $118,785,000 after purchasing an additional 621,336 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $217,560,000 after purchasing an additional 415,368 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $156.15 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $50.18 billion, a PE ratio of 12.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $140.98 and a 52-week high of $221.11. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $157.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.80.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The business’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.14 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Profile

Marathon Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated downstream energy company primarily in the United States. The company operates through Refining & Marketing, and Midstream segments. The Refining & Marketing segment refines crude oil and other feedstocks at its refineries in the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent, and West Coast regions of the United States; and purchases refined products and ethanol for resale and distributes refined products, including renewable diesel, through transportation, storage, distribution, and marketing services.