Franklin Resources Inc. Cuts Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 15.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 643,520 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 115,913 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.20% of Marathon Petroleum worth $104,572,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 32,640 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,317,000 after purchasing an additional 5,095 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 121.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 17,445 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 9,551 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,466,000 after purchasing an additional 18,764 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4,227.5% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,759 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,364,000 after purchasing an additional 68,147 shares during the period. Finally, Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.0% in the third quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 12,038 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,961,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Tudor Pickering lowered Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of MPC stock opened at $145.56 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $142.84 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $155.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $164.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.78 billion, a PE ratio of 11.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.39.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $8.14 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

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

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.