Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Holdings Decreased by MGB Wealth Management LLC

MGB Wealth Management LLC cut its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 21.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 17,315 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 4,830 shares during the period. Marathon Petroleum accounts for 0.7% of MGB Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. MGB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,410,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in 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 valued at $911,274,000 after purchasing an additional 4,328,470 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $213,605,000 after buying an additional 1,304,372 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth about $114,107,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 647,045 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James increased their price target 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. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $149.26 on Thursday. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $145.84 and its 200-day moving average is $157.27. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $130.54 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.41.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its 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 return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.98 earnings per share. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the acquisition, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.