Fmr LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Fmr LLC cut its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 2.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,671,053 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 131,181 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $923,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter valued at $219,537,000. ING Groep NV bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at about $114,107,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake 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 worth $118,785,000 after acquiring an additional 621,336 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $217,560,000 after acquiring an additional 415,368 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. 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 Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $155.33 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $140.98 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $158.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $167.03.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The company 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 firm’s revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.14 EPS. Analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 EPS 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.