World Investment Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

World Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 4,227.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 69,759 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 68,147 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $11,364,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $911,274,000 after purchasing an additional 4,328,470 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,304,372 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $114,107,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 980.3% in the 2nd 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 period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 846,756 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $137,945,000 after purchasing an additional 576,119 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Bank of America began coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $185.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock traded down $5.68 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $146.29. 2,723,175 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,618,012. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $142.57 and a 12 month high of $221.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.42. The company has a market capitalization of $47.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The business's revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $8.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a $0.91 dividend. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is 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.