Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Sells 751 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. reduced its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,495 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 751 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,441,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Essential Planning LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $2,483,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,798 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,088,000 after acquiring an additional 545 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 16,554 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,309,000 after acquiring an additional 1,193 shares during the period. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth approximately $70,000. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 19,754 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,756,000 after acquiring an additional 1,124 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, insider Ricky D. Hessling purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $134.72 per share, with a total value of $269,440.00. Following the transaction, 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Evan Bayh purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. The trade was a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $141.23 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $152.93. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $130.54 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The company has a market capitalization of $44.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.22, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.98 earnings per share. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on MPC. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on 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 given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.13.

Marathon Petroleum Company 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.