Centaurus Financial Inc. Buys 220 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 18.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,388 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MPC. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% during the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth about $35,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MPC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Tudor Pickering downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Mizuho reduced 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $155.33 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 firm has a market cap of $49.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $158.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.03. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $140.98 and a one year high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released 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. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $8.14 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors 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 represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

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

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.