Synovus Financial Corp Has $5.32 Million Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 18.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,640 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,095 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $5,317,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of 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. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth $33,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho lowered 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. Citigroup dropped 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $185.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

MPC stock traded down $0.72 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $145.56. The stock had a trading volume of 2,014,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,615,508. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.06. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $142.84 and a 52 week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $8.14 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 dividend yield of 2.50%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program 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 repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.