Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Purchased by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 0.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 364,817 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 777 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $59,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 40.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 36,299 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,314,000 after purchasing an additional 10,449 shares during the period. Natixis grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1,191.3% in the first quarter. Natixis now owns 2,983 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $601,000 after buying an additional 2,752 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Shell Asset Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 65.9% during the first quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 5,067 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,021,000 after buying an additional 2,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 169.7% in the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 7,623 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,536,000 after buying an additional 4,797 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of MPC opened at $159.38 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $158.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $167.87. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $140.98 and a one year high of $221.11. The company has a market capitalization of $51.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.63, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued 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 net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.14 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MPC. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Tudor Pickering lowered shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.07.

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.