Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC Sells 150 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 2.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,770 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 0.6% in the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 20,301 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,307,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at about $184,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 5,335 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $869,000 after buying an additional 1,997 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 504.1% during the third quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 16,915 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,756,000 after buying an additional 14,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 44.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 15,865 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,585,000 after buying an additional 4,868 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 1.3 %

MPC stock opened at $156.47 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $158.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.27. The company has a market cap of $50.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $140.98 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11.

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 company had revenue of $35.37 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.14 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MPC shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Tudor Pickering cut Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.07.

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.