Zions Bancorporation N.A. Acquires 340 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 22.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,822 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter worth $29,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter valued at about $40,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MPC shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of MPC opened at $157.51 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $140.98 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The company has a market capitalization of $50.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.48, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $159.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $168.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $8.14 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.41 EPS for the current year.

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 paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

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

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.