Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 421 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lessened its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 3.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,468 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 421 shares during the quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Wellington Shields & Co. LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MPC shares. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $158.14 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $140.98 and a twelve month high of $221.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $159.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.80.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $8.14 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback 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 purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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 $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

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.