Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by Venturi Wealth Management LLC

Venturi Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 64.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,585 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 4,639 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $421,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MPC. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at $176,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.2% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 23,599 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $4,755,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.4% in the first quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,150 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,642,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 15.7% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 443,868 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $89,439,000 after acquiring an additional 60,154 shares during the period. Finally, D Orazio & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.2% during the first quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 1,894 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of MPC stock traded up $3.90 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $159.11. 2,194,186 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,658,976. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $140.98 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.38. The company's 50-day moving average price is $159.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $168.87.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $8.14 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. 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 2.29%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MPC. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America started coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Tudor Pickering lowered Marathon Petroleum from a "strong-buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $185.07.

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.