Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 2,264 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 5.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,614 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 2,264 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $7,046,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NBC Securities Inc. increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 6,333 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,276,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Guidance Capital Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $1,135,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 431 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 27.3% in the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Corp IN raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 2,429 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MPC shares. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $207.00 to $191.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $222.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Tudor Pickering lowered Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $198.38.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 3.0 %

NYSE:MPC opened at $158.61 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $170.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $180.20. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $139.32 and a 1-year high of $221.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.92, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.38.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 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 firm had revenue of $38.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 12.68 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 issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 16.48%.

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.