Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by Loomis Sayles & Co. L P

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P cut its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 14.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 568 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 98 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $93,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% in the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MPC shares. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $155.36 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $158.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.95. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $140.98 and a 1-year high of $221.11. The company has a market cap of $49.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.38.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $8.14 EPS. Analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

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

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.