Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Decreases Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lowered its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 276,216 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 5,808 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned about 0.09% of Marathon Petroleum worth $44,998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 33.5% during the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 28,236 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $4,675,000 after acquiring an additional 7,086 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 10.7% in the second quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 7,002 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.8% in the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,733 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,808 shares in the last quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc. increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc. now owns 2,477 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Sara Bay Financial lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 29.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 4,340 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $753,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE MPC traded down $0.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $145.56. The company had a trading volume of 2,014,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,615,508. The business has a 50 day moving average of $155.10 and a 200-day moving average of $164.96. The company has a market cap 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 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion during 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.14 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan 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 reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.84%.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 approximately $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Bank of America started coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $185.27.

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.