D.A. Davidson & CO. Sells 2,155 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

D.A. Davidson & CO. decreased its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 7.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,060 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,155 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $4,083,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $213,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304,372 shares in the last quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter worth $219,537,000. ING Groep NV bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth $114,107,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 980.3% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 684,718 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $118,785,000 after purchasing an additional 621,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $217,560,000 after purchasing an additional 415,368 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $155.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $158.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $166.95. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $140.98 and a 52-week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.14 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors 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 purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.