EP Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 22.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 19,171 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,534 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $3,123,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,033,000 after purchasing an additional 9,355 shares during the last quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.8% in the 2nd quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 4,972 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $863,000 after buying an additional 924 shares during the last quarter. Holistic Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at approximately $912,000. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 353.4% during the second quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 55,989 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $9,713,000 after acquiring an additional 43,639 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 14.8% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 46,365 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,553,000 after acquiring an additional 5,972 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE MPC opened at $150.94 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.39. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $140.98 and a 1-year high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $156.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $165.87.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The business 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.14 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. This is a positive change 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MPC. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Tudor Pickering cut shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.