Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Holdings Increased by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 22.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,733 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 1,808 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,688,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. NBC Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 6,333 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,276,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 5,483 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.5% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, D Orazio & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 1,894 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MPC. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 14th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $186.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $222.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective 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. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.38.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.2 %

MPC stock traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $179.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,044,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,633,146. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $63.30 billion, a PE ratio of 8.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.40. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $139.32 and a 12 month high of $221.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $171.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $180.02.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $1.03. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 25.87%. The business had revenue of $38.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.32 earnings per share. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 13.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 16.48%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to purchase up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.