ING Groep NV Acquires New Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

ING Groep NV bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 700,429 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,107,000. Marathon Petroleum makes up about 0.7% of ING Groep NV’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. ING Groep NV owned 0.21% of Marathon Petroleum at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MPC. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MPC. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Two research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:MPC traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $159.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 404,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,648,800. The business’s fifty day moving average is $159.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.80. The stock has a market cap of $51.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.38. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $140.98 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $8.14 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.