Portside Wealth Group LLC Sells 230 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Portside Wealth Group LLC decreased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,599 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 230 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $921,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on MPC. Citigroup reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.20.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.7 %

MPC stock opened at $152.83 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $130.54 and a 12 month high of $221.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $147.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $159.31.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $8.14 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has approved 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 purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.