Intech Investment Management LLC Has $27.68 Million Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 4.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 169,906 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 7,165 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Marathon Petroleum worth $27,679,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 18,630 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,035,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at about $1,327,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 2,405 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

MPC stock opened at $159.38 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $158.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.87. The company has a market capitalization of $51.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.63, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.38. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $140.98 and a 1-year high of $221.11.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $8.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

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 issued a $0.91 dividend. 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 payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on MPC shares. Bank of America started coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Tudor Pickering downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.