Moors & Cabot Inc. Trims Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Moors & Cabot Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,252 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 135 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 15.2% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 431 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 5.0% in the second quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 3.6% during the second quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC now owns 1,714 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. SouthState Corp increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 4,122 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $715,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,165 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $159.49 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $140.98 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $158.88 and a 200 day moving average of $167.81. The stock has a market cap of $51.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.38.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.14 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

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

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.