Wendell David Associates Inc. Grows Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Wendell David Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 77,770 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the quarter. Marathon Petroleum comprises about 1.1% of Wendell David Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Wendell David Associates Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $10,849,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% in the third 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 during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. ING Groep NV bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $114,107,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 576,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $75,757,000 after purchasing an additional 501,441 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $147.51 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $47.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $147.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $158.80. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $130.54 and a 1 year high of $221.11. 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 (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion for 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.14 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a $0.91 dividend. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MPC has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America began coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.