Paloma Partners Management Co Boosts Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Paloma Partners Management Co raised its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 94.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,524 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,224 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $6,439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 15.2% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 431 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Legacy Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 5.0% in the second quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Latitude Advisors LLC increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 3.6% during the second quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC now owns 1,714 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. SouthState Corp raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.5% during the second quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 4,122 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $715,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,165 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on MPC. Mizuho cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup decreased 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. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $156.15 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $157.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $166.70. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $140.98 and a twelve month high of $221.11. The company has a market capitalization of $50.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 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.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $8.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 2.33%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board 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 reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.