Tower Bridge Advisors Acquires 2,400 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Tower Bridge Advisors grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 54.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,780 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares during the quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors’ holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MPC. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% during the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on MPC. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Tudor Pickering downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $157.52 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $159.06 and a 200-day moving average of $168.33. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $140.98 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $50.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.48, 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $8.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. 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. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

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

Marathon Petroleum 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.