Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 333.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,800 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 6,000 shares during the quarter. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MPC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Tudor Pickering downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.67.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $153.75 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $160.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.89. The firm has a market cap of $49.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.38. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $140.98 and a 12 month high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted 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. 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $8.14 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

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.