Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by MAI Capital Management

MAI Capital Management reduced its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 38.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,871 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 10,375 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,749,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter valued at about $219,537,000. ING Groep NV bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at about $114,107,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $118,785,000 after acquiring an additional 621,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 64.1% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 619,049 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $107,393,000 after acquiring an additional 241,746 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MPC. Tudor Pickering cut shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "strong-buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of MPC traded up $0.58 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $159.38. The stock had a trading volume of 1,606,790 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,641,980. 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 52-week low of $140.98 and a 52-week high of $221.11. The business's fifty day moving average is $158.90 and its 200 day moving average is $167.93. The firm has a market cap of $51.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.38.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.14 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program 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 buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. 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. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

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.