SPC Financial Inc. Lowers Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

SPC Financial Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 24,286 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,932 shares during the quarter. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $3,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $911,274,000 after buying an additional 4,328,470 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at $114,107,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $495,595,000 after buying an additional 647,045 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 846,756 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $137,945,000 after buying an additional 576,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,757,000 after buying an additional 501,441 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MPC. Barclays reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE MPC opened at $142.68 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.86 billion, a PE ratio of 14.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The business’s fifty day moving average is $148.53 and its 200 day moving average is $154.95. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $130.54 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.98 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 36.66%.

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.