First Horizon Advisors Inc. Boosts Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $174,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Aspire Private Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 3,456 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $523,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 10,899 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 579,841 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $87,753,000 after purchasing an additional 48,540 shares in the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 5,786 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $858,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 149.9% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,133 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $762,000 after purchasing an additional 3,079 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total transaction of $170,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,994,026.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE:MPC opened at $182.78 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $64.40 billion, a PE ratio of 9.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $194.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.51. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $104.32 and a 52 week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.25. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 25.87% and a net margin of 5.32%. The company had revenue of $32.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.09 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 19.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to purchase up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on MPC. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.62.

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.