Kovack Advisors Inc. Sells 1,779 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Kovack Advisors Inc. cut its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 34.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,350 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,779 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $675,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 47.9% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 37,573 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,685,000 after acquiring an additional 12,163 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,609 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,816,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 71.9% during the 3rd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 19,859 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,006,000 after purchasing an additional 8,303 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 8.1% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 157,017 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $23,763,000 after buying an additional 11,797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 4.4% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 219,135 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $33,175,000 after buying an additional 9,212 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock traded up $0.85 on Thursday, hitting $174.99. 1,344,583 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,601,003. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $177.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.65 billion, a PE ratio of 8.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.40. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $112.82 and a one year high of $221.11.

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

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to purchase up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $227.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $186.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.31.

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.