Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by AustralianSuper Pty Ltd

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 3.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 901,536 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 31,599 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $146,869,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 5.4% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 138,789 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,966,000 after buying an additional 7,092 shares in the last quarter. Accel Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at $262,000. Retirement Guys Formula LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter worth about $212,000. Norden Group LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 20.8% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 4,694 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $946,000 after buying an additional 808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 6.3% during the first quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 3,160 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $637,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock traded up $0.93 on Thursday, hitting $145.69. The stock had a trading volume of 397,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,662,156. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $163.74 and a 200 day moving average of $172.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.23, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.37. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $140.98 and a twelve month high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.31.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $1.03. The company had revenue of $38.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.66 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 4.79% and a return on equity of 24.05%. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.32 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This is a positive change 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 2.50%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 16.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MPC shares. TD Cowen raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Mizuho cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. cut shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.00.

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.