Equitable Trust Co. Has $838,000 Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Equitable Trust Co. lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 212.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,145 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co.'s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $838,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MPC. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at $52,000. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 26,960 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $4,392,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.7% in the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 11,700 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,906,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4.7% during the third quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,969 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $972,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 10.3% during the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,829 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,113,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Citigroup lowered their price target 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. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $180.00 to $168.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Two investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $185.67.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

MPC stock traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $153.75. 1,718,368 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,396,236. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The business has a 50-day moving average of $160.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.41 billion, a PE ratio of 12.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.38. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $140.98 and a 52 week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.14 EPS. The company's revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors 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.