Nwam LLC Buys Shares of 2,015 Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Nwam LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,015 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,111 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,647,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 17.7% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 2,329 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 8.8% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,905,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $473,353,000 after purchasing an additional 235,795 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 4.4% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 169,906 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,679,000 after buying an additional 7,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 18,630 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,035,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MPC shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Tudor Pickering cut shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. cut Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC stock opened at $158.48 on Monday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $140.98 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $158.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

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.