Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Position Boosted by Synovus Financial Corp

Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,640 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,095 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $5,317,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 121.0% in the third 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 position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% during 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 buying an additional 18,764 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 68,147 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at approximately $823,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MPC shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. Mizuho lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets reduced 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 report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Tudor Pickering downgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.27.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $145.56 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $142.84 and a 12 month high of $221.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap 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. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $165.06.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced 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. The firm 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 business’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 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

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

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.