Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,217 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 685 shares during the period. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,146,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth $411,000. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 4,772 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $666,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. one8zero8 LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $617,000. Choate Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 11,652 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,625,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 234,763 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $32,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $141.23 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $148.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $152.93. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.22, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced 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. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.98 earnings per share. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports 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. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Evan Bayh acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. The trade was a 1.46 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $134.72 per share, with a total value of $269,440.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. This represents a 19.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.