Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 51.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,887 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 4,063 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $749,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bryant Woods Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth $224,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 133,919 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,812,000 after purchasing an additional 4,442 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.4% during the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 3,418 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 13,119 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,528,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,599 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,657,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC opened at $176.39 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $53.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.80, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $183.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 1 year low of $115.10 and a 1 year high of $202.29.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas company reported $3.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.01. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.76%. The company had revenue of $34.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.06 billion. Analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 19th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MPC shares. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Mizuho set a $196.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $231.00 to $184.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $170.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.71.

About Marathon Petroleum

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: MPC) is a U.S.-based downstream energy company engaged principally in the refining, marketing, supply and transportation of petroleum products. The company was formed through a spin-off from Marathon Oil in 2011 and operates an integrated system of refining and logistics assets that support the production and distribution of transportation fuels and other refined petroleum products.

Marathon Petroleum’s operations include refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and other specialty products, as well as managing the distribution and storage infrastructure needed to move those products to market.