BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Has $7.44 Million Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. decreased its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 36.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 45,675 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 26,503 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $7,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter valued at $1,544,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4.7% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 13,188 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,657,000 after purchasing an additional 588 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19.6% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 44,149 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $8,883,000 after purchasing an additional 7,244 shares during the period. Castleark Management LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 19.3% during the first quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 19,739 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,977,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Western Trust Bank purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth approximately $220,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.5 %

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $158.48 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $50.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $158.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $167.46. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $140.98 and a fifty-two week 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.

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 during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $8.14 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 28.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Tudor Pickering downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.07.

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.