Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Purchased by Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 5.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 143,637 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,513 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $23,400,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Zacks Investment Management increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 28.3% during the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 1,825 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% during the 3rd 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. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,171 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,123,000 after purchasing an additional 3,534 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 12.4% in the third quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 34,366 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $5,599,000 after purchasing an additional 3,781 shares during the period. Finally, Insigneo Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.1% during the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,508 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,015,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

MPC traded up $0.93 on Wednesday, reaching $151.99. The company had a trading volume of 2,796,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,617,572. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $156.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $165.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.85 billion, a PE ratio of 11.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.40. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $141.45 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

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

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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 paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is 28.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $185.27.

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.