Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Sells 353 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,534 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 353 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $493,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MPC. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 2,068 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,271 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 395 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,171 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,638,464.64. This trade represents a 19.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Evan Bayh bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. This represents a 1.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 2.9%

NYSE MPC opened at $156.80 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $145.89. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $115.10 and a one year high of $183.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.87. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by $0.16. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The business had revenue of $31.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on MPC shares. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $193.00 to $183.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Mizuho increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.29.

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.