Acadian Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Acadian Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 73.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 449,098 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,214,737 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $77,897,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. NBC Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.9% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 6,333 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,276,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 5,483 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,135,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 431 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 27.3% in the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Corp IN lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.5% during the first quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 2,429 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on MPC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $186.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $222.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.38.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $166.00 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $139.32 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The company has a market cap of $58.49 billion, a PE ratio of 8.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $171.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $180.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $1.03. The company had revenue of $38.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.66 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 24.05% and a net margin of 4.79%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.32 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 12.68 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 16.48%.

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.