Pacer Advisors Inc. Purchases 235,795 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 8.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,905,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 235,795 shares during the period. Marathon Petroleum comprises approximately 1.0% of Pacer Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $473,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% during the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MPC. Citigroup decreased their price objective 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. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. cut shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Tudor Pickering cut shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

MPC opened at $159.38 on Thursday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $140.98 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.22 billion, a PE ratio of 12.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $158.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.87.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.14 EPS. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 2.28%. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

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

Marathon Petroleum 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.