Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC reduced its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,589 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 915 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $3,354,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth about $35,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. lowered Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. 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 research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.27.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE MPC opened at $151.06 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $156.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.70. The company has a market capitalization of $48.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.40. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $141.45 and a 12 month high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.