Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Acquires 4,404 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,820 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,404 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $13,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. NBC Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.9% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 6,333 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,276,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.1% during the first quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 5,483 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 27.3% during the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 2.5% during the first quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 2,429 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, D Orazio & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.2% during the first quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 1,894 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MPC shares. Mizuho dropped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $201.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Raymond James dropped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $223.00 to $196.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.38.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 1.9 %

MPC traded down $3.31 on Tuesday, hitting $169.89. The company had a trading volume of 1,657,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,619,552. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $139.32 and a 52-week high of $221.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $171.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $180.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.40.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $1.03. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 25.87%. The firm had revenue of $38.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.66 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 13.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 16.48%.

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.