Pacer Advisors Inc. Grows Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,905,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 235,795 shares during the period. Marathon Petroleum makes up 1.0% of Pacer Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned about 0.90% of Marathon Petroleum worth $473,353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MPC. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MPC shares. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. cut Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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, Citigroup decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE MPC opened at $159.38 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $51.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $158.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.87. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $140.98 and a twelve month high of $221.11.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $8.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan 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 repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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 paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. 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 2.28%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

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.