Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV reduced its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 14.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,263 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 379 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $316,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 4,328,470 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% in the 4th 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 period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% during 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 in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 valued at $213,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304,372 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service increased its position 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 valued at $159,204,000 after buying an additional 29,008 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $159.25 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $146.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.67. The firm has a market cap of $51.18 billion, a PE ratio of 16.04, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $130.54 and a 52-week high of $221.11.

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

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.66%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MPC. Raymond James increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 represents a 6,666.67 % 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. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.