Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Makes New $611,000 Investment in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 3,520 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $611,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 400.0% in the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 1.2 %

MPC opened at $164.39 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $169.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.83. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $139.32 and a one year high of $221.11. The stock has a market cap of $57.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.38.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $1.03. The business had revenue of $38.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.66 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 24.05% and a net margin of 4.79%. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.32 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 12.68 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on MPC. Tudor Pickering downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $222.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $197.69.

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.