Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Sells 9,413 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lowered its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 45.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,182 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 9,413 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Tudor Pickering lowered Marathon Petroleum from a "strong-buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective 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. Citigroup dropped their price target 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. Barclays dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE:MPC traded up $1.48 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $159.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,599,006 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. The company has a market capitalization of $51.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.58, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.38. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $140.98 and a twelve month high of $221.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $158.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.93.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $8.14 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in 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 a sign 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.