Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Buys 2,541 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 40.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,810 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 2,541 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC raised 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 worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter worth $35,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on MPC. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets reduced 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. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Two research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 1.2 %

MPC stock opened at $155.33 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $158.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.03. The stock has a market cap of $49.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 2.72 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. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $140.98 and a twelve month high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly 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 business 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%. The company’s revenue 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, equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.59 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.84%.

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

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.