Bank of Nova Scotia Reduces Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia has reduced its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation by 69.7%, selling 83,661 shares and leaving it with 36,391 shares valued at approximately $5.3 million.
• Several other institutional investors have either decreased or increased their stakes in Marathon Petroleum, with 76.77% of the company's stock now owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Marathon Petroleum announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, with a total annualized dividend yielding 2.2% and a payout ratio of 51.20%.

Bank of Nova Scotia cut its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 69.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,391 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 83,661 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $5,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.7% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,982,348 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $725,878,000 after purchasing an additional 178,397 shares in the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 12.8% in the first quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 4,713,595 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $686,724,000 after purchasing an additional 536,462 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,399,977 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $613,624,000 after purchasing an additional 452,043 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,937,348 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $549,260,000 after purchasing an additional 484,438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,400,826 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $474,415,000 after purchasing an additional 88,901 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective (up from $180.00) on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $182.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $185.29.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of MPC stock traded down $0.56 on Friday, hitting $160.95. The stock had a trading volume of 1,278,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,963,470. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $169.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.74. The company has a market cap of $48.93 billion, a PE ratio of 23.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.90. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a one year low of $115.10 and a one year high of $183.10.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $3.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $34.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.70 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 1.58%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.12 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is currently 54.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 7,392 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,293,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,315,200. The trade was a 28.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

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.