Veritable L.P. Reduces Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Veritable L.P. decreased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 2.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,812 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 687 shares during the quarter. Veritable L.P.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $3,126,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MPC. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,603 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 910 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter worth $282,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 18,230 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted 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 worth $807,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.93% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of MPC opened at $150.70 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $150.20 and its 200 day moving average is $132.37. 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 12-month low of $104.32 and a 12-month high of $159.65. The company has a market capitalization of $57.22 billion, a PE ratio of 5.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.79 by $0.35. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 7.52% and a return on equity of 34.66%. The firm had revenue of $41.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.81 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 22.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 25th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 15th. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 11.20%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.43, for a total transaction of $914,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,673,258.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MPC has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 17th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $152.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $162.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $157.00 to $153.00 in a report on Monday, October 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $140.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 7th. Five research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $157.92.

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.