Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC Has $1.70 Million Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC reduced its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,428 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,007 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,699,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Founders Financial Securities LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 22.8% in the second 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. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter worth $97,000. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 worth $9,713,000 after buying an additional 43,639 shares during the last quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth $4,075,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter valued at about $513,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MPC. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. lowered Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Mizuho dropped their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $222.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Tudor Pickering cut shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.67.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 3.1 %

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $149.41 on Wednesday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $140.98 and a 12 month high of $221.11. The stock has a market cap of $50.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $161.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $1.03. The firm had revenue of $38.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.66 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 24.05% and a net margin of 4.79%. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.71 EPS for the current year.

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 issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.34%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback 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 buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.