Centaurus Financial Inc. Purchases 220 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 18.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,388 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $213,605,000 after buying an additional 1,304,372 shares in the last quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth about $219,537,000. ING Groep NV bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $114,107,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 980.3% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 684,718 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $118,785,000 after purchasing an additional 621,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 64.1% during the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 619,049 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $107,393,000 after purchasing an additional 241,746 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho cut 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. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $155.33 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $158.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $167.03. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $140.98 and a 1-year high of $221.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $49.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.38.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion during 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 firm’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.14 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.