Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $76.39 Million Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 468,935 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,434 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.14% of Marathon Petroleum worth $76,394,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $213,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304,372 shares during the last quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth about $219,537,000. ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth about $114,107,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 980.3% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 684,718 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $118,785,000 after acquiring an additional 621,336 shares during the period. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 64.1% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 619,049 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $107,393,000 after acquiring an additional 241,746 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MPC has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. 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. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE MPC traded up $2.46 on Monday, reaching $159.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,099,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,651,127. The firm has a market cap of $51.42 billion, a PE ratio of 12.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $159.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $168.26. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $140.98 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

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.