Philadelphia Trust Co. Sells 5,597 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Philadelphia Trust Co. trimmed its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 83,862 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 5,597 shares during the quarter. Marathon Petroleum comprises about 0.9% of Philadelphia Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Philadelphia Trust Co.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $11,699,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 78.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,961,503 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,389,630,000 after buying an additional 4,367,774 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,803,951 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $670,151,000 after purchasing an additional 315,786 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 37.4% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,436,704 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $480,501,000 after purchasing an additional 935,042 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,400,826 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $474,415,000 after purchasing an additional 88,901 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MPC. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $193.00 to $183.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.21.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $134.72 per share, with a total value of $269,440.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at $1,638,464.64. The trade was a 19.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Evan Bayh acquired 1,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 69,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. This trade represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $123.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.41 billion, a PE ratio of 12.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $143.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $148.82. 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 Co. has a one year low of $115.10 and a one year high of $214.00.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The firm 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.98 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.