Zacks Investment Management Has $297,000 Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Zacks Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 28.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,825 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $297,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,033,000 after acquiring an additional 9,355 shares during the last quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.8% in the 2nd quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 4,972 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $863,000 after acquiring an additional 924 shares during the last quarter. Holistic Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at about $912,000. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 353.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 43,639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 46,365 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,553,000 after acquiring an additional 5,972 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 acquired at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on MPC shares. Bank of America assumed coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. Tudor Pickering cut Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Barclays lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.27.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE MPC opened at $151.06 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $48.55 billion, a PE ratio of 11.97, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $141.45 and a 12 month high of $221.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $156.76 and a 200-day moving average of $165.70.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $8.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

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.