Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Increases Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 6.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,285,248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 72,192 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.36% of Marathon Petroleum worth $222,965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter worth $219,537,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 10,902.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,110,630 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $223,792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100,536 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 980.3% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 684,718 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $118,785,000 after purchasing an additional 621,336 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 309.9% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 643,590 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $95,483,000 after buying an additional 486,573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 64.1% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 619,049 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $107,393,000 after buying an additional 241,746 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC stock opened at $166.36 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $170.01 and a 200-day moving average of $179.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.38. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $139.32 and a 12 month high of $221.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $1.03. The firm had revenue of $38.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.66 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 4.79% and a return on equity of 24.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.32 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 12.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 16.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on MPC. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $223.00 to $196.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $207.00 to $191.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Raymond James lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $199.46.

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.