Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Acquired by Versor Investments LP

Versor Investments LP raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 803.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,240 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,775 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 2.6% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 4,286,892 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $743,690,000 after acquiring an additional 107,915 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,080,958 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $620,815,000 after purchasing an additional 31,100 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,773,050 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $558,390,000 after purchasing an additional 8,476 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 8.5% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,669,815 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $463,160,000 after buying an additional 209,270 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 7.6% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,663,835 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $335,241,000 after buying an additional 117,790 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MPC. Mizuho lowered their target price 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. Wolfe Research started coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:MPC traded up $2.31 on Monday, hitting $156.06. The stock had a trading volume of 1,862,101 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,663,605. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $160.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.48. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $140.98 and a 1-year high of $221.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $50.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.38.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $34.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $8.14 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.41 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 given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

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

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.