Valmark Advisers Inc. Purchases 246 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,074 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 138,789 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,966,000 after buying an additional 7,092 shares in the last quarter. Accel Wealth Management bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter worth about $262,000. Retirement Guys Formula LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Norden Group LLC grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 20.8% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 4,694 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $946,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 3,160 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE:MPC opened at $144.77 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market cap of $51.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.37. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $140.98 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $163.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $172.18.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $1.03. The company had revenue of $38.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.66 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 4.79% and a return on equity of 24.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.32 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.