Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 49,523 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 11.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 478,876 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 49,523 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $78,014,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC stock opened at $159.11 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $51.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.38. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $140.98 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $159.69 and a 200-day moving average of $168.87.

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

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.07.

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.