SPC Financial Inc. Purchases 427 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

SPC Financial Inc. boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,523 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 427 shares during the period. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $5,143,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WBI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at about $1,614,000. Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 41.6% in the first quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,218 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $648,000 after buying an additional 945 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.2% in the first quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 7,816 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,575,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at about $8,828,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at about $3,871,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 1.3 %

MPC stock traded up $2.11 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $164.29. The company had a trading volume of 2,204,188 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,696,145. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $174.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.83. The company has a market capitalization of $57.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.10, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.40. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $117.28 and a 52 week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $32.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.07 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 25.87% and a net margin of 5.32%. The business’s revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 16.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 16.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MPC shares. Barclays dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Scotiabank raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $201.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $227.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.31.

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.