Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Stock Holdings Increased by Zacks Investment Management

Zacks Investment Management lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 28.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,825 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the quarter. Zacks Investment Management’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $297,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MPC. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.7% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 89,034 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $15,446,000 after purchasing an additional 2,338 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter valued at approximately $513,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 9.5% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 104,967 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $18,210,000 after acquiring an additional 9,128 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 6.7% during the second quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,181 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $552,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 30.3% during the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 740 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $151.06 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $48.55 billion, a PE ratio of 11.97, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a fifty day moving average of $156.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.70. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $141.45 and a 52-week high of $221.11. 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 (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $8.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase 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 repurchase 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 Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MPC. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.27.

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.