Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by Sunbelt Securities Inc.

Sunbelt Securities Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 5.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 18,525 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,079 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $3,018,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 27.7% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,033,000 after acquiring an additional 9,355 shares in the last quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 4,972 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $863,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares in the last quarter. Holistic Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth about $912,000. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 353.4% in the 2nd quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 55,989 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $9,713,000 after purchasing an additional 43,639 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 46,365 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,553,000 after buying an additional 5,972 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MPC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler decreased 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 note on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of 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, Tudor Pickering downgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.27.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE MPC opened at $151.06 on Wednesday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $156.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97, a PEG 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.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $8.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.