Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 25.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,215 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,173 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,012,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Savvy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth about $225,000. Platform Technology Partners bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth approximately $226,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,820,000. Versor Investments LP increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 803.8% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 13,240 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,157,000 after acquiring an additional 11,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Capital Management of KS Inc. raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. United Capital Management of KS Inc. now owns 40,414 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,584,000 after acquiring an additional 1,484 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on MPC shares. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. lowered shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Citigroup lowered 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $158.14 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $140.98 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $50.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.80.

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

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan 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 purchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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 paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 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.