Meridian Wealth Management LLC Acquires 841 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,111 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 841 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,647,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. lowered Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective 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. Two 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $158.48 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $50.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.56, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.38. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $140.98 and a 12 month high of $221.11. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $158.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.64.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion during 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $8.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually 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.