FourThought Financial Partners LLC Invests $4.60 Million in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 32,975 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,600,000.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Raymond James raised 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $152.70 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $49.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.38, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.24. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $130.54 and a 12 month high of $221.11. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. 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 firm posted $3.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.