Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp Grows Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 28,477 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,843 shares during the quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $4,639,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth $30,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MPC. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. lowered Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 1.1 %

MPC opened at $155.36 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $158.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.95. The company has a market capitalization of $49.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.38. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $140.98 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The company’s revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $8.14 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company 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 an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.84%.

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

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.