Haverford Trust Co Buys 391 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Haverford Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,279 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the quarter. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,023,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,131 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,056,000 after purchasing an additional 2,005 shares during the period. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at about $269,000. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at about $245,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at about $273,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 101.9% in the first quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC now owns 16,533 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,331,000 after acquiring an additional 8,343 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $159.11 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $159.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.87. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $140.98 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $8.14 earnings per share. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.41 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MPC. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.07.

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.