Sentry Investment Management LLC Has $707,000 Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Sentry Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 4.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,341 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 168 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of MPC opened at $144.94 on Tuesday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $140.98 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.31.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $1.03. The company had revenue of $38.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.66 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 24.05% and a net margin of 4.79%. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.32 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 17.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Tudor Pickering lowered shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.00.

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.