Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 98.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,886 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 114,493 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Wellington Shields & Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter valued at about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of MPC stock opened at $157.52 on Monday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $140.98 and a 12 month high of $221.11. The stock has a market cap of $50.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.38. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.26.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $8.14 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. 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 2.31%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 26.15%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MPC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.07.

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.