Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC Boosts Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 10.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,005 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Inscription Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 3,340 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $544,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. Pullen Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.8% in the third quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 10,820 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,763,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 3.6% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 149,014 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $24,313,000 after acquiring an additional 5,133 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 30.9% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 309.5% in the third quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 30,030 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,892,000 after purchasing an additional 22,696 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MPC shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $222.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. downgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $180.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.00.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC stock opened at $145.28 on Wednesday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $140.98 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The business’s 50-day moving average is $164.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.38.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $1.03. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 4.79% and a return on equity of 24.05%. The company had revenue of $38.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.32 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.