Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 2.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,322 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 344 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,007,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 15.2% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 431 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Legacy Advisors LLC raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 5.0% during the second quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Latitude Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 3.6% in the second quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC now owns 1,714 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. SouthState Corp boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.5% in the second quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 4,122 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $715,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.9% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,165 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $158.48 on Monday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $140.98 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $158.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.46. The stock has a market cap of $50.93 billion, a PE ratio of 12.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.38.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.14 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback 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 buy up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders 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 is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 28.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MPC shares. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective 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. 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. Finally, Tudor Pickering lowered shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.