Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by Stephens Inc. AR

Stephens Inc. AR lowered its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,519 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 384 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho dropped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 3.9 %

Shares of MPC opened at $149.26 on Thursday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $130.54 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The company has a market capitalization of $47.97 billion, a PE ratio of 15.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $145.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $157.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The firm’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.98 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.7 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

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.