Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Purchased by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 22.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,171 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,534 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $3,123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted 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 in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $213,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304,372 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth $114,107,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 980.3% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 684,718 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $118,785,000 after purchasing an additional 621,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $217,560,000 after purchasing an additional 415,368 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MPC. Mizuho decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup cut their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $185.27.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock traded up $2.07 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $153.01. The company had a trading volume of 2,527,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,613,382. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $141.45 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 $49.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.40. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $156.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.70.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.34 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.14 EPS. The company's revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.84%.

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