Southland Equity Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Southland Equity Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 1,227 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $500,685,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 256.3% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 884,573 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $131,235,000 after purchasing an additional 636,281 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 309.9% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 643,590 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $95,483,000 after purchasing an additional 486,573 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 248.1% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 608,888 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $90,335,000 after purchasing an additional 433,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $33,604,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE MPC opened at $173.99 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $180.74 and a 200-day moving average of $175.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market cap of $61.30 billion, a PE ratio of 8.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.45. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $111.27 and a 52-week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $32.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.07 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 25.87%. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.09 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 18.65 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas company to buy up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.08.

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.