Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Stock Position Increased by Acadian Asset Management LLC

Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 7.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,663,835 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 117,790 shares during the period. Marathon Petroleum makes up about 1.2% of Acadian Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $335,241,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at $500,685,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 10,902.9% in the first quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,110,630 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $223,792,000 after buying an additional 1,100,536 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 256.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 309.9% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 248.1% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 608,888 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $90,335,000 after acquiring an additional 433,977 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPC traded up $0.64 on Friday, hitting $165.16. 3,037,126 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,462,000. 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 moving average price is $172.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.61. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $122.08 and a one year high of $221.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.25, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.40.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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%. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.09 EPS. Research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 13.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 30th 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 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 16.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MPC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho reduced their target price 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 Marathon Petroleum to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $207.00 to $191.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $193.64.

Marathon Petroleum Company 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.