Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Purchased by SWS Partners

SWS Partners grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,612 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,560 shares during the quarter. SWS Partners’ holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $3,401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $500,685,000. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $219,537,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 10,902.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,110,630 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $223,792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100,536 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 309.9% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 643,590 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $95,483,000 after purchasing an additional 486,573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,604,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MPC. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $198.38.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC stock traded up $1.70 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $180.75. 2,387,139 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,644,414. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $171.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.72. The company has a market cap of $63.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.03, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.40. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $139.32 and a 12 month high of $221.11. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $1.03. The firm had revenue of $38.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.66 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 25.87% and a net margin of 5.32%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.32 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 13.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.48%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.