Polaris Capital Management LLC Buys 16,500 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Polaris Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 194,332 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,500 shares during the quarter. Marathon Petroleum accounts for approximately 2.5% of Polaris Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Polaris Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $37,456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MPC. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4.4% during the third quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $465,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth $58,000. MGO One Seven LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 539.7% in the third quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 59,075 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,386,000 after purchasing an additional 49,840 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 73,979 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $14,259,000 after buying an additional 4,754 shares during the period. Finally, Warwick Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Warwick Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $214.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 20th. Mizuho set a $196.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.71.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $175.58 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market cap of $52.78 billion, a PE ratio of 18.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $182.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.50. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 12-month low of $115.10 and a 12-month high of $202.29.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas company reported $3.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $31.06 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

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

Marathon Petroleum Profile

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.