Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Bought by Saxon Interests Inc.

Saxon Interests Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 8.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,145 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 709 shares during the period. Saxon Interests Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,843,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $500,685,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 256.3% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 884,573 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $131,235,000 after acquiring an additional 636,281 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 309.9% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 643,590 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $95,483,000 after acquiring an additional 486,573 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 248.1% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 608,888 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $90,335,000 after buying an additional 433,977 shares during the period. Finally, Canoe Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,604,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $201.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Raymond James reduced their price target on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $186.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.31.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock traded down $0.57 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $174.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,531,535 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,719,696. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.43. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $178.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.13. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $112.82 and a one year high of $221.11. The stock has a market cap of $61.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.40.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $32.07 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 25.87% and a net margin of 5.32%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.09 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 17.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to buy up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

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

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.