OneAscent Financial Services LLC Lowers Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

OneAscent Financial Services LLC cut its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 10.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,245 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 398 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MPC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth approximately $500,685,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 256.3% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 884,573 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $131,235,000 after purchasing an additional 636,281 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 309.9% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 643,590 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $95,483,000 after purchasing an additional 486,573 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 248.1% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 608,888 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $90,335,000 after purchasing an additional 433,977 shares during the period. Finally, Canoe Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $33,604,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Scotiabank increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $201.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.08.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:MPC opened at $173.48 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $61.12 billion, a PE ratio of 8.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $112.82 and a 52-week high of $221.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $178.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.76.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $32.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.07 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 25.87% and a net margin of 5.32%. The business’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.09 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 17.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.48%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to buy up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication 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.