Howland Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Howland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,342 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $270,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SPC Financial Inc. lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 25,523 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,143,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares during the period. WBI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,614,000. Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 41.6% in the 1st 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 holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.2% in the 1st 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. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at about $8,828,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $227.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Bank of America upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Barclays reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.31.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC stock traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $163.95. The company had a trading volume of 8,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,675,937. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $174.45 and a 200-day moving average of $176.75. The company has a market capitalization of $57.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.21, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.40. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $117.28 and a 12-month 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $32.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the prior year, the business earned $6.09 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 16.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

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

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