Hudock Inc. Has $228,000 Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Hudock Inc. boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,636 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the quarter. Hudock Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,757,000 after purchasing an additional 501,441 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 27.7% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,033,000 after purchasing an additional 9,355 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,466,000 after purchasing an additional 18,764 shares in the last quarter. Holistic Planning LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth about $912,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4,227.5% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,759 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,364,000 after acquiring an additional 68,147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James increased their price objective 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. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.27.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC stock opened at $149.26 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $145.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $157.27. The company has a market capitalization of $47.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.03, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.41. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $130.54 and a 52-week high of $221.11. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.7 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.