Founders Financial Securities LLC Purchases New Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Founders Financial Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 4,048 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $816,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Guidance Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.1% in the first quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 5,483 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Vicus Capital boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 2,287 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter worth $202,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 25.2% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,925 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,597,000 after purchasing an additional 1,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Occidental Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter worth about $229,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MPC stock traded up $0.57 during trading on Friday, reaching $173.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,656,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,644,769. The company has a market cap of $61.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.45. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $112.82 and a one year high of $221.11. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $178.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $175.76. 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 (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $32.71 billion during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.09 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 17.85 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $221.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.08.

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.