Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Decreases Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 45.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,064 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 17,417 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $3,432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter worth about $35,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MPC. Scotiabank reduced their price target 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. Bank of America assumed coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $185.27.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC traded up $2.07 during trading on Monday, hitting $153.01. The company had a trading volume of 2,527,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,613,382. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $141.45 and a 12 month high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.70.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $8.14 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

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.