Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Raises Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 17.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,344 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 1,237 shares during the quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,132,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 42.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,459 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 237.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 69,402 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,671,000 after purchasing an additional 48,814 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at about $68,000. Finally, National Pension Service raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 3.1% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 977,250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $159,204,000 after purchasing an additional 29,008 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MPC. Barclays lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $142.68 on Wednesday. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $148.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $154.95. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $130.54 and a 52-week high of $221.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.98 earnings per share. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.