Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. Sells 528 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. reduced its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 7.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,132 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 528 shares during the quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MPC. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth $30,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Wellington Shields & Co. LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of MPC stock traded down $1.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $154.21. The stock had a trading volume of 118,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,663,806. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.61 billion, a PE ratio of 8.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $161.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $140.98 and a 52-week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 24.05% and a net margin of 4.79%. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $8.14 EPS. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. This is a boost 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 (DPR) is currently 17.34%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MPC. Mizuho dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Tudor Pickering cut shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.