Quarry LP Buys New Shares in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,070 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $500,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. DNB Asset Management AS acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $240,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 9.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 16,489 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,861,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398 shares during the period. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth $260,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 17.1% during the second quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 38,670 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,708,000 after buying an additional 5,654 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Country Trust Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 94.4% during the second quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 14,213 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,466,000 after buying an additional 6,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE:MPC opened at $150.10 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $140.98 and a 12 month high of $221.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $157.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $48.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.39.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.14 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MPC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Tudor Pickering lowered Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.07.

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.