Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Bought by Haverford Trust Co

Haverford Trust Co increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,279 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,023,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 11.5% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 478,876 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $78,014,000 after acquiring an additional 49,523 shares in the last quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Platform Technology Partners bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $226,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,820,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 803.8% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 13,240 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,157,000 after buying an additional 11,775 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 2.5 %

MPC stock opened at $159.11 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $140.98 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.87. The firm has a market cap of $51.14 billion, a PE ratio of 12.61, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.38.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $8.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.