Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Bought by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,905,610 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 235,795 shares during the period. Marathon Petroleum makes up approximately 1.0% of Pacer Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.90% of Marathon Petroleum worth $473,353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MPC. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Wellington Shields & Co. LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MPC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. lowered shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Tudor Pickering cut shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "strong-buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.1 %

MPC stock traded up $0.11 during trading on Thursday, reaching $159.49. 949,080 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,636,951. The company has a market capitalization of $51.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.38. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $140.98 and a 12 month 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. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $158.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.87.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to purchase 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 stock is undervalued.

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.