Pacer Advisors Inc. Acquires 209,270 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,669,815 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 209,270 shares during the period. Marathon Petroleum accounts for 1.0% of Pacer Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.76% of Marathon Petroleum worth $463,160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MPC. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.9% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 6,333 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,276,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Guidance Capital Inc. boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 5,483 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 431 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 27.3% during the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Corp IN lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.5% in the first quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 2,429 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:MPC opened at $164.34 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $139.32 and a 1-year high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The business has a 50 day moving average of $169.99 and a 200 day moving average of $179.77. The company has a market capitalization of $57.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.21, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.38.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $1.03. The company had revenue of $38.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.66 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 4.79% and a return on equity of 24.05%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.32 EPS. On average, 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $186.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $222.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Tudor Pickering cut Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Raymond James decreased 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $197.69.

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.