532 Shares in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Acquired by Ashton Thomas Securities LLC

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 532 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4.6% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 68,825 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,212,000 after purchasing an additional 3,032 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 10,259 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,671,000 after buying an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 44.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 294 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 13.8% in the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,630 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,731,000 after acquiring an additional 1,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 333.3% during the third quarter. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC now owns 7,800 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,271,000 after acquiring an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE MPC opened at $155.19 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $160.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.17. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $140.98 and a 52-week high of $221.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $8.14 EPS. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MPC. Wolfe Research began coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Tudor Pickering cut shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum 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.