Portside Wealth Group LLC Purchases 637 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 10.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,829 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,113,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MPC. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $30,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Wellington Shields & Co. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price target 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. Mizuho cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $222.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.67.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of MPC stock opened at $153.60 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $140.98 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average of $160.49 and a 200-day moving average of $169.89. The firm has a market cap of $49.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.17, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.38.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $8.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 26.15%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has approved 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 purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management 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.