Valmark Advisers Inc. Purchases 246 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,074 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 400.0% in the first quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Wellington Shields & Co. LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MPC shares. Scotiabank dropped their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $222.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $180.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned 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, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.00.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $144.77 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $51.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.23, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $163.74 and its 200 day moving average is $172.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $140.98 and a one year high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $1.03. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 4.79% and a return on equity of 24.05%. The company had revenue of $38.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.32 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.71 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.48%.

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.