Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Sells 7,008 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 109,117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 7,008 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $15,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% during the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MPC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This trade 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 link. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of MPC stock traded up $1.78 on Wednesday, hitting $152.42. The stock had a trading volume of 150,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,726,355. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $130.54 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The stock has a market cap of $48.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50 day moving average of $146.87 and a 200 day moving average of $158.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The company’s revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $8.14 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.