Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC decreased its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,931 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 161 shares during the quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $548,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.20.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.7 %

MPC opened at $152.83 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $147.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.10. The firm has a market cap of $49.12 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.42. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $130.54 and a twelve month high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $8.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

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

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.