Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank cut its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,045,766 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 21,200 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.31% of Marathon Petroleum worth $170,366,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.4% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 468,935 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $76,394,000 after acquiring an additional 15,434 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 32.5% during the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 1,710 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 54.8% during the third quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors now owns 6,780 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,105,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares during the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 2.5% during the third quarter. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC now owns 8,902 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,450,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

MPC stock traded up $2.46 during trading on Monday, reaching $159.98. The company had a trading volume of 2,099,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,651,127. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $168.26. The company has a market cap of $51.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.38. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $140.98 and a twelve month high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. Marathon Petroleum's revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $8.14 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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%. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on MPC shares. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 note on Wednesday, October 9th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $185.07.

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.