Cidel Asset Management Inc. Buys 822 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,923 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 822 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $966,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% during the 3rd 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 period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $495,595,000 after buying an additional 647,045 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $217,560,000 after buying an additional 415,368 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised 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 buying an additional 1,304,372 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 977,250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $159,204,000 after acquiring an additional 29,008 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $150.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $146.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $157.74. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $130.54 and a 1-year high of $221.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.41.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.98 EPS. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. 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 2.42%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 28.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.27.

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.