Tidal Investments LLC Acquires 7,244 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 19.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 44,149 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,244 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $8,883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MPC. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 400.0% during the first quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Wellington Shields & Co. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPC traded down $2.61 on Thursday, reaching $174.41. 244,910 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,649,104. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $133.65 and a twelve month high of $221.11. The company has a fifty day moving average of $171.78 and a 200-day moving average of $178.51. The company has a market capitalization of $61.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.84, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.25. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 25.87% and a net margin of 5.32%. The firm had revenue of $32.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.09 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 13.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 16.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $207.00 to $191.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $186.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $201.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $193.64.

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.