Brooklyn Investment Group Grows Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 7.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,371 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MPC. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $213,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304,372 shares during the period. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter valued at about $219,537,000. ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at about $114,107,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 980.3% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 684,718 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $118,785,000 after buying an additional 621,336 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $217,560,000 after buying an additional 415,368 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:MPC opened at $157.13 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $158.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.11. 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 market capitalization of $50.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.38. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $140.98 and a 12-month high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $8.14 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MPC shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on 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 lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.