Larson Financial Group LLC Raises Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 82.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,889 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,761 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $784,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 400.0% in the first quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Vima LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC traded down $0.74 on Wednesday, reaching $162.18. 2,367,950 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,699,154. 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 cap of $57.14 billion, a PE ratio of 8.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.40. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $175.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.94. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $117.28 and a twelve month high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share 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%. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.09 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 16.9 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 yield of 2.03%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 16.48%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 purchase up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $201.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.31.

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.