J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Cuts Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 4.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,961 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 136 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $482,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Founders Financial Securities LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 4,972 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $863,000 after buying an additional 924 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.2% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $615,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at $97,000. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 353.4% in the second quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 55,989 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $9,713,000 after buying an additional 43,639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter worth $4,075,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $144.77 on Thursday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $140.98 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The company has a market capitalization of $51.01 billion, a PE ratio of 7.23, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50 day moving average of $163.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $172.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

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, beating 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 company posted $5.32 earnings per share. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.71 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MPC. Wolfe Research began coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. lowered Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on 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, Tudor Pickering lowered Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.00.

Marathon Petroleum 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.