Freedom Investment Management Inc. Has $1.03 Million Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,313 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,081 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,028,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cynosure Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 6.3% in the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 6,973 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,136,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the period. Hardy Reed LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 3,268 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $532,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 46,365 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,553,000 after purchasing an additional 5,972 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,555 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.4% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 2,689 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $438,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. downgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased 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 report on Thursday, October 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE MPC opened at $155.33 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $158.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $140.98 and a one year high of $221.11. The firm has a market cap of $49.92 billion, a PE ratio of 12.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.38.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The company 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 quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.14 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are 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.