Eastern Bank Lowers Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Eastern Bank reduced its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 80.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,801 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 11,863 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 400.0% in the first quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at about $40,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE MPC opened at $153.76 on Thursday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $140.98 and a 1-year high of $221.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $166.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.39. The company has a market cap of $54.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $1.03. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 24.05% and a net margin of 4.79%. The company had revenue of $38.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.32 EPS. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 16.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the subject of several research reports. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. cut Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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. Finally, Tudor Pickering downgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.00.

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.