B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Makes New Investment in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 29,928 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $4,876,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BIP Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at about $231,000. Tranquility Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC now owns 10,107 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,646,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Joseph Group Capital Management increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 23.0% during the 3rd quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 13,955 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,273,000 after purchasing an additional 2,609 shares during the last quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 31,103 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $5,067,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Islay Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 3.8% during the third quarter. Islay Capital Management LLC now owns 7,284 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,187,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Tudor Pickering cut shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "strong-buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.9 %

Marathon Petroleum stock traded up $1.48 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $159.38. The stock had a trading volume of 1,599,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,641,980. The company has a market cap of $51.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.38. The business's 50 day moving average price is $158.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.87. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $140.98 and a 52 week 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.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. Marathon Petroleum's revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $8.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 EPS 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 paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership 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.