Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by Meeder Advisory Services Inc.

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lowered its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,638 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 125 shares during the quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,059,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 3,391 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $683,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 189.2% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 10,311 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,078,000 after purchasing an additional 6,746 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 40.4% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 36,299 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,314,000 after buying an additional 10,449 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 111.2% in the first quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 7,299 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,471,000 after acquiring an additional 3,843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 6.9% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 114,334 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $23,038,000 after acquiring an additional 7,407 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 1.6 %

MPC opened at $159.98 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $51.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.38. 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 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $159.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $168.10.

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

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MPC shares. Mizuho cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective 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. Citigroup reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.