Retirement Guys Formula LLC Acquires Shares of 1,050 Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Retirement Guys Formula LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 47.9% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 37,573 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,685,000 after purchasing an additional 12,163 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.4% during the third quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 117,271 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $17,748,000 after acquiring an additional 2,703 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.7% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,609 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,816,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. KGH Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at about $16,647,000. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 71.9% during the third quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 19,859 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,006,000 after acquiring an additional 8,303 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $227.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $186.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.31.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $174.99 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $176.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.30. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $112.82 and a 52-week high of $221.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.40.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued 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. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 25.87%. The firm had revenue of $32.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.09 earnings per share. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 17.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.48%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.