OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Trims Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 39.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,547 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,002 shares during the period. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in 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 during the period. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $219,537,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 980.3% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 684,718 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $118,785,000 after buying an additional 621,336 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 64.1% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 619,049 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $107,393,000 after buying an additional 241,746 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 8.5% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,669,815 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $463,160,000 after acquiring an additional 209,270 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE MPC opened at $159.11 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $159.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $168.87. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $140.98 and a 52 week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.14 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved 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 buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. 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. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MPC. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank dropped their target price 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. Tudor Pickering downgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America began coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.07.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.