Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Buys Shares of 8,147 Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 8,147 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,327,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MPC. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% during the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MPC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Tudor Pickering cut Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:MPC opened at $157.13 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $158.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.11. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $140.98 and a one year high of $221.11. The stock has a market cap of $50.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 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.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $8.14 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum Profile

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.