Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Acquired by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 45.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 415,368 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $217,560,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 4,286,892 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $743,690,000 after buying an additional 107,915 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,905,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $473,353,000 after acquiring an additional 235,795 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 0.3% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,773,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $558,390,000 after acquiring an additional 8,476 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $213,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 6.0% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,285,248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $222,965,000 after purchasing an additional 72,192 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of MPC opened at $156.47 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $50.29 billion, a PE ratio of 12.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 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. The company’s fifty day moving average is $158.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.27. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $140.98 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $8.14 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.