Csenge Advisory Group Reduces Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Csenge Advisory Group lessened its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 20.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,302 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,360 shares during the quarter. Csenge Advisory Group’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,068,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:MPC opened at $164.29 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $117.28 and a twelve month high of $221.11. The company has a market capitalization of $57.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $174.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.75.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.25. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 25.87% and a net margin of 5.32%. The firm had revenue of $32.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.09 EPS. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 16.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.48%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 reacquire up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $186.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Raymond James cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $227.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.31.

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.