Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC Sells 4,900 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 33,907 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 4,900 shares during the quarter. Marathon Petroleum comprises 0.7% of Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $5,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of MPC opened at $155.36 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $158.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.95. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $140.98 and a twelve month high of $221.11. The stock has a market cap of $49.93 billion, a PE ratio of 12.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The company’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $8.14 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors 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 2.34%. 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 dividend payout ratio is 28.84%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MPC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. downgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Mizuho cut 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.