Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,388 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,455,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 0.9% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 6,333 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,276,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Guidance Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 5,483 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 15.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 27.3% during the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Corp IN lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 2.5% during the first quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 2,429 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $201.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $186.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Six investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.38.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 3.6 %

NYSE MPC opened at $177.12 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $171.47 and a 200 day moving average of $180.32. The company has a market capitalization of $62.40 billion, a PE ratio of 8.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $139.32 and a 1 year high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $1.03. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 24.05% and a net margin of 4.79%. The business had revenue of $38.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.32 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 12.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.48%.

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.