Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Reduces Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lessened its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 61.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 434 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 697 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $71,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $213,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304,372 shares in the last quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth $219,537,000. ING Groep NV acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth $114,107,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 980.3% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 684,718 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $118,785,000 after buying an additional 621,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 241,746 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 1.2 %

MPC stock opened at $155.33 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $49.92 billion, a PE ratio of 12.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $158.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.03. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $140.98 and a fifty-two 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.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $8.14 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 EPS for the current year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 28.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Citigroup cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.07.

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.