Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Sells 389 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB trimmed its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,886 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 389 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,757,000 after acquiring an additional 501,441 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,033,000 after acquiring an additional 9,355 shares during the last quarter. Holistic Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $912,000. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 4,227.5% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,759 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,364,000 after purchasing an additional 68,147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nilsine Partners LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 32,683 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,559,000 after buying an additional 1,746 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective on the stock. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $150.13 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $145.91 and its 200 day moving average is $157.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.12, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.41.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.98 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program 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 buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by 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.