Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC – Free Report) by 24.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,667 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 1,492 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,070,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PFG Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 5,048 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $704,000 after buying an additional 486 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 3,317 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $463,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 6,452 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $900,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 13,071 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,823,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 43,580 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,079,000 after purchasing an additional 10,398 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Activity
In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance
Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $8.14 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.
Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.84%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MPC. Barclays dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned 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, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.20.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Marathon Petroleum
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.
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