Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,108,726 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 10,963 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.63% of Marathon Petroleum worth $343,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MPC. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter valued at $35,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the topic of several research reports. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. lowered Marathon Petroleum from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $185.67.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE:MPC traded down $1.25 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $154.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,755,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,671,383. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $161.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.32. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $140.98 and a 52-week high of $221.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $51.54 billion, a PE ratio of 8.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.38.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 24.05% and a net margin of 4.79%. Marathon Petroleum's revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.14 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 purchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.34%.

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.