Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Buys 129 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,461 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $622,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% in the third 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 last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $495,595,000 after purchasing an additional 647,045 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $217,560,000 after purchasing an additional 415,368 shares during the last quarter. 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. Finally, National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.1% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 977,250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $159,204,000 after purchasing an additional 29,008 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $153.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.49, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $145.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $157.51. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.98 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.7 EPS for the current year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on MPC shares. 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. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.27.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.