Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Purchases New Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 6,529 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,133,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 400.0% during the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of MPC stock opened at $161.49 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $56.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $170.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $180.07. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $139.32 and a 12-month high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $1.03. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 4.79% and a return on equity of 24.05%. The firm had revenue of $38.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.66 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 12.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MPC. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Tudor Pickering lowered Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $186.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $198.38.

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.