Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc Increases Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 6.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,315 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,029,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MPC. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased 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 worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Wellington Shields & Co. LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $158.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a market capitalization of $50.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $159.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.80. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $140.98 and a 1 year high of $221.11.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company 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 research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.41 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan 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 buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.07.

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.