Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Has $570,000 Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. cut its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 17.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,500 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 734 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $570,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $213,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304,372 shares in the last quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter valued at approximately $219,537,000. ING Groep NV bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth $114,107,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 980.3% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 684,718 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $118,785,000 after purchasing an additional 621,336 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $217,560,000 after purchasing an additional 415,368 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $156.15 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $140.98 and a 1-year high of $221.11. The stock has a market cap of $50.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $157.98 and its 200 day moving average is $166.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $8.14 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MPC shares. Mizuho dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America began coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Tudor Pickering downgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced 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 report on Thursday, October 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given 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 target price of $185.07.

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.