Townsquare Capital LLC Buys 5,972 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 46,365 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,972 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $7,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,555 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 2,689 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $438,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,371 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 40.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 8,810 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,435,000 after buying an additional 2,541 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $217,560,000 after buying an additional 415,368 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:MPC traded down $1.78 on Thursday, hitting $155.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,286,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,628,050. 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 fifty day moving average of $158.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.38. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $140.98 and a one year high of $221.11.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.14 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved a share buyback 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 reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MPC shares. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Barclays decreased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. cut Marathon Petroleum from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Company 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.