M&T Bank Corp Purchases 485 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

M&T Bank Corp raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 33,349 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 485 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $5,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Tudor Pickering cut shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.27.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 3.7 %

MPC stock opened at $146.29 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $156.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.42. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $142.57 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The firm has a market cap of $47.02 billion, a PE ratio of 11.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.14 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan 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 plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.