KBC Group NV Increases Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 151.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 356,986 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 215,138 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned approximately 0.11% of Marathon Petroleum worth $49,800,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $911,274,000 after purchasing an additional 4,328,470 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,905,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $473,353,000 after buying an additional 235,795 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $217,560,000 after acquiring an additional 415,368 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $213,605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 977,250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $159,204,000 after acquiring an additional 29,008 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MPC shares. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.20.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of MPC stock opened at $152.69 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $49.07 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.42. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $130.54 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $147.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $158.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $8.14 EPS. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum 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.