Advisors Asset Management Inc. Cuts Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 2.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,322 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 344 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,007,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $158.48 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $158.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market cap of $50.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.38. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $140.98 and a 1 year high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $8.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors 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.