Balentine LLC Acquires 250 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Balentine LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 17.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Balentine LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $270,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Founders Financial Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.8% in the second quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 4,972 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $863,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth about $97,000. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 353.4% during the 2nd quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 55,989 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $9,713,000 after buying an additional 43,639 shares in the last quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter valued at about $4,075,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter valued at approximately $513,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.67.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $149.41 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $161.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $140.98 and a 12-month high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $1.03. The business 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 24.05% and a net margin of 4.79%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.32 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program 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 programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company 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 is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.34%.

Marathon Petroleum 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.