Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 2,599 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 39.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,156 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,599 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,845,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Vima LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC stock traded up $0.57 during trading on Friday, reaching $173.48. 3,624,170 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,708,284. The company has a 50-day moving average of $179.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.35. The company has a market capitalization of $61.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.45. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $112.82 and a twelve month high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.25. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 25.87%. The business had revenue of $32.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.09 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 17.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to purchase up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 16.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MPC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $201.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.08.

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.