Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Sells 1,764 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,003 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,764 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $4,883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MPC. Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $794,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,757,000 after purchasing an additional 501,441 shares in the last quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 63.8% in the fourth quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,591 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009 shares during the last quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,206 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,377 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,238,000 after acquiring an additional 2,049 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

MPC stock opened at $152.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $49.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.42. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $130.54 and a twelve month high of $221.11. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $159.47. 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 (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $8.14 EPS. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 buy up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MPC shares. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.