Pullen Investment Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Pullen Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,820 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 192 shares during the quarter. Marathon Petroleum makes up approximately 1.3% of Pullen Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Pullen Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Founders Financial Securities LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 22.8% during the second quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 4,972 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $863,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $615,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at about $97,000. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 353.4% during the 2nd 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, Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter valued at about $4,075,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. cut Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Tudor Pickering lowered shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.00.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $152.36 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $140.98 and a 52-week high of $221.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $50.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.01, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.37. The business’s 50 day moving average is $165.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.52.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $1.03. The business had revenue of $38.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.66 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 4.79% and a return on equity of 24.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.32 EPS. Analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.34%.

Marathon Petroleum Company 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.