Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Cuts Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 140,596 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 8,202 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $22,904,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 431 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 1,894 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC now owns 1,714 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SouthState Corp grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.5% during the second quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 4,122 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $715,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.5 %

MPC stock traded down $0.74 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $154.47. 387,801 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,649,458. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $159.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.87. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $140.98 and a fifty-two week 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 company has a market capitalization of $49.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.30, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.38.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $8.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.