Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Raises Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 747.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,275 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,764 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $3,466,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $911,274,000 after buying an additional 4,328,470 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $213,605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304,372 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $114,107,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% in 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 buying an additional 576,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in 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 worth $217,560,000 after acquiring an additional 415,368 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price 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. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $185.27.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock traded down $0.72 during trading on Friday, reaching $145.56. The company had a trading volume of 2,014,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,615,508. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.78 billion, a PE ratio of 11.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.39. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $142.84 and a 1-year high of $221.11. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $155.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.06.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.14 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.