Rothschild Investment LLC Raises Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 152.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 17,032 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 10,286 shares during the quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,376,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 4,328,470 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $495,595,000 after purchasing an additional 647,045 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $217,560,000 after purchasing an additional 415,368 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 977,250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $159,204,000 after purchasing an additional 29,008 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 918,361 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $128,111,000 after buying an additional 16,825 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 2.8 %

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $153.81 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $130.54 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $146.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.40.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.98 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction 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 $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MPC shares. Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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, February 5th. Raymond James upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho reduced their price objective 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. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.