Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV lowered its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 60.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 141,848 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 219,454 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $23,108,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Founders Financial Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 4,972 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $863,000 after buying an additional 924 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 27.7% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,033,000 after acquiring an additional 9,355 shares during the period. Holistic Planning LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $912,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth approximately $97,000. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 353.4% during the 2nd quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 55,989 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $9,713,000 after purchasing an additional 43,639 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.4 %

MPC stock opened at $157.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $50.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.48, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $159.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $168.73. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $140.98 and a 12 month high of $221.11. 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 (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.41 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. lowered Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Tudor Pickering downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.07.

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.