Martingale Asset Management L P Trims Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Martingale Asset Management L P cut its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,156 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 6,631 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $12,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MPC shares. Tudor Pickering downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $156.15 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $157.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.80. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $140.98 and a one year high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for 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%. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.14 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program 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 repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum Company 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.