Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Acquired by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 45.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 415,368 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.41% of Marathon Petroleum worth $217,560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 4,286,892 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $743,690,000 after acquiring an additional 107,915 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 8.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,905,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $473,353,000 after purchasing an additional 235,795 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 0.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,773,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $558,390,000 after purchasing an additional 8,476 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $213,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,285,248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $222,965,000 after buying an additional 72,192 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $156.47 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $50.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.38. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $140.98 and a 52-week high of $221.11. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $158.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $167.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.14 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in 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 generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on MPC. TD Cowen cut their price target 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. Citigroup cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Tudor Pickering cut Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Mizuho cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.07.

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.