Moors & Cabot Inc. Has $1.51 Million Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Moors & Cabot Inc. reduced its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,252 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 135 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Natixis lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1,191.3% during the first quarter. Natixis now owns 2,983 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $601,000 after purchasing an additional 2,752 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Shell Asset Management Co. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 65.9% during the first quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 5,067 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,021,000 after acquiring an additional 2,012 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,158 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,054,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth approximately $226,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:MPC opened at $159.49 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $140.98 and a twelve month high of $221.11. 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 $51.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a fifty day moving average of $158.88 and a 200-day moving average of $167.81.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $8.14 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 EPS for the current year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date 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 26.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Bank of America began 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.