MAI Capital Management Sells 10,375 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

MAI Capital Management lessened its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 38.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,871 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 10,375 shares during the quarter. MAI Capital Management’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,749,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 15.2% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 431 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Legacy Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Latitude Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC now owns 1,714 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. SouthState Corp increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.5% in the second quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 4,122 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $715,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.9% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,165 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,268,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on MPC. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $158.79 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $158.90 and its 200 day moving average is $167.93. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $140.98 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $51.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.38.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. 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 2.29%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 26.15%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program 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 reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management 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.