Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. trimmed 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 140,596 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 8,202 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $22,904,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MPC. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 6,315 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 6,279 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,023,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 11.5% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 478,876 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $78,014,000 after acquiring an additional 49,523 shares in the last quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Finally, Platform Technology Partners acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at $226,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MPC. Bank of America began coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. cut Marathon Petroleum from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock traded up $3.90 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $159.11. 2,194,186 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,658,976. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $168.87. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $140.98 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $8.14 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.41 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program 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 reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.