Cynosure Group LLC Grows Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Cynosure Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,973 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the period. Cynosure Group LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 4,286,892 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $743,690,000 after buying an additional 107,915 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.8% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,905,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $473,353,000 after purchasing an additional 235,795 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 0.3% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,773,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $558,390,000 after buying an additional 8,476 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $217,560,000 after acquiring an additional 415,368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $213,605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304,372 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC stock opened at $157.13 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $158.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.11. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $140.98 and a one year high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market cap of $50.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.38.

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, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.14 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Tudor Pickering cut Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Company 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.