Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd decreased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 90.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,960 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 19,104 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $911,274,000 after purchasing an additional 4,328,470 shares during the period. ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $114,107,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $495,595,000 after buying an additional 647,045 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 846,756 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $137,945,000 after buying an additional 576,119 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,757,000 after purchasing an additional 501,441 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $142.68 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.37, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $148.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $130.54 and a 12 month high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 36.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.27.

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.