Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Acquired by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 117.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,600 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,400 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $10,599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Vima LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 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 recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $201.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $227.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.08.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MPC traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $172.57. The stock had a trading volume of 852,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,706,265. The company has a market cap of $60.80 billion, a PE ratio of 8.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.45. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $112.82 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The company’s 50 day moving average is $179.61 and its 200-day moving average is $175.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.43.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $32.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.07 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 25.87%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.09 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 17.85 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.48%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 30th 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 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.