Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank cut its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 14.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,594,866 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 265,100 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.40% of Marathon Petroleum worth $185,961,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 19.4% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,603 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 910 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at approximately $282,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 18,559 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,584,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 25.1% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 90,916 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,800,000 after purchasing an additional 18,230 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 11.0% in the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 9,438 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $807,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the period. 74.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 17th. StockNews.com began coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $157.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Monday, October 9th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $171.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $152.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $157.92.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 2.3 %

MPC stock opened at $145.13 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $104.32 and a twelve month high of $159.65. The company’s 50 day moving average is $150.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.99. The stock has a market cap of $55.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.42, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.57.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 31st. The oil and gas company reported $8.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.79 by $0.35. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 7.52% and a return on equity of 34.66%. The company had revenue of $41.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 22.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 15th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.20%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 25th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.43, for a total transaction of $914,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 24,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,673,258.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Marathon Petroleum

Marathon Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated downstream energy company primarily in the United States. It operates in two segments, Refining & Marketing, and Midstream. 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.