Metis Global Partners LLC Sells 875 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Metis Global Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,799 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 875 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,411,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $157.51 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $140.98 and a 12 month high of $221.11. The stock has a market cap of $50.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50 day moving average of $159.23 and a 200 day moving average of $168.73.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The business 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 revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.14 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on MPC. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. downgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Tudor Pickering downgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.