Point72 Europe London LLP Takes Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Point72 Europe London LLP bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,800 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $782,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 89,122 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $14,519,000 after buying an additional 8,283 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 6.9% in the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 28,477 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,639,000 after acquiring an additional 1,843 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 5.8% in the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 17,327 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,836,000 after purchasing an additional 953 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth about $8,709,000. Finally, First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at approximately $288,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $156.15 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $140.98 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $157.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.74.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $8.14 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.91 per share. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan 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 reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on MPC. Bank of America assumed coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Tudor Pickering cut shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Company 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.