ING Groep NV Acquires Shares of 700,429 Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

ING Groep NV bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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 0.7% of ING Groep NV’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 15.2% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 431 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Legacy Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.6% in the second quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC now owns 1,714 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. SouthState Corp grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 4,122 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $715,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,165 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,268,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on MPC. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Mizuho dropped 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 lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MPC traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $159.51. 404,659 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,648,800. 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 1-year low of $140.98 and a 1-year high of $221.11. The company has a market cap of $51.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $159.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $168.80.

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

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued 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 2.28%. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

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.