AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Trims Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd reduced its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 901,536 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 31,599 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned about 0.26% of Marathon Petroleum worth $146,869,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 400.0% during the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC stock traded up $0.93 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $145.69. The stock had a trading volume of 397,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,662,156. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $140.98 and a twelve month high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $163.74 and its 200 day moving average is $172.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.33 billion, a PE ratio of 7.23, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.37.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $1.03. The business had revenue of $38.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.66 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 24.05% and a net margin of 4.79%. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.32 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.71 earnings per share 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 $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 16.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MPC. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.00.

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.