Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Purchases Shares of 183 Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 183 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pure Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at $718,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 24,420 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,978,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. swisspartners Advisors Ltd lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. swisspartners Advisors Ltd now owns 19,725 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,213,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 14,818 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,278,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,459 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $564,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE MPC opened at $153.60 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $140.98 and a 1-year high of $221.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $49.37 billion, a PE ratio of 12.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $160.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.89.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $8.14 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program 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 repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America started coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. lowered Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.67.

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.