Aspiriant LLC Decreases Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Aspiriant LLC reduced its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 4.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,880 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 408 shares during the quarter. Aspiriant LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Scarborough Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 2,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter worth about $36,823,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $174,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $33,604,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 10,899 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Raymond James cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $201.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.08.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.5 %

MPC stock opened at $174.24 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $61.39 billion, a PE ratio of 8.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $112.42 and a 12 month high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $32.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.07 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 25.87%. The business’s revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.09 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 18.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 16.48%.

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.