Sage Private Wealth Group LLC Cuts Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Sage Private Wealth Group LLC reduced its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,113 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 145 shares during the period. Marathon Petroleum accounts for 0.4% of Sage Private Wealth Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Sage Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% in 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 buying an additional 4,328,470 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position 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 worth $213,605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304,372 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth approximately $114,107,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 647,045 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 846,756 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $137,945,000 after purchasing an additional 576,119 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 1.0 %

MPC opened at $155.31 on Wednesday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The company has a market capitalization of $49.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.64, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $145.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.39. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.98 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

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.