Ancora Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Ancora Advisors LLC lowered its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 10.9% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 11,971 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,472 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 400.0% during the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE MPC opened at $177.02 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $62.37 billion, a PE ratio of 8.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $171.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $131.21 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.25. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 25.87% and a net margin of 5.32%. The firm had revenue of $32.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.09 earnings per share. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 13.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 16.48%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program 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 purchase up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MPC. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $222.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $201.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average 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.