Marcum Wealth LLC Sells 436 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Marcum Wealth LLC lessened its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,346 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 436 shares during the period. Marcum Wealth LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $911,274,000 after purchasing an additional 4,328,470 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 1,304,372 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth $114,107,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 846,756 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $137,945,000 after buying an additional 576,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 415,368 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $149.54 on Wednesday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $130.54 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a 50-day moving average of $147.88 and a 200 day moving average of $159.57. The firm has a market cap of $48.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.85, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.42.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $8.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 28.84%.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased 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 owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. Two investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $183.73.

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.