Eagle Ridge Investment Management Cuts Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Eagle Ridge Investment Management trimmed its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 10.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,383 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 981 shares during the period. Eagle Ridge Investment Management’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,153,636 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $764,526,000 after buying an additional 137,341 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 4,102,057 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $608,581,000 after purchasing an additional 96,753 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $500,685,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,341,364 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $347,365,000 after purchasing an additional 178,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 969,120 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $143,779,000 after acquiring an additional 26,941 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.3 %

Marathon Petroleum stock traded down $0.57 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $174.22. The stock had a trading volume of 2,531,535 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,719,696. The company has a market capitalization of $61.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.68, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $112.82 and a one year high of $221.11. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $178.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.13.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $32.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.07 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 25.87%. The business’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.09 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 17.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas company to purchase up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 16.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MPC shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $227.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Barclays reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $186.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.31.

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.