Simon Quick Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Simon Quick Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,122 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 207 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.5% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 3,508 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $609,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1,037.7% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 12,207 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,118,000 after acquiring an additional 11,134 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 51.8% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 69,017 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,973,000 after purchasing an additional 23,541 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.2% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 176,626 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $30,641,000 after purchasing an additional 2,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 28.6% during the second quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 2,491 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 4.6 %

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $154.37 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $147.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.72. The stock has a market cap of $49.61 billion, a PE ratio of 12.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.42. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $8.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the firm’s 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. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.