CENTRAL TRUST Co Cuts Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

CENTRAL TRUST Co reduced its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 37,518 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,510 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $6,112,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Founders Financial Securities LLC increased its stake in 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 worth $863,000 after buying an additional 924 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.2% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $615,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 353.4% in the second quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 55,989 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $9,713,000 after purchasing an additional 43,639 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 117.4% in the first quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 52,600 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,599,000 after purchasing an additional 28,400 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $180.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Wolfe Research began 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. TD Cowen upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Two 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.00.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC stock opened at $153.76 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.39. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $140.98 and a 52-week high of $221.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $1.03. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 4.79% and a return on equity of 24.05%. The company had revenue of $38.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.32 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.48%.

Marathon Petroleum 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.