Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Acquires 1,654 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 11.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,964 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,654 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% in the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MPC shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC stock opened at $155.31 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.91 billion, a PE ratio of 15.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $145.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $157.39. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The business 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 revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.98 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding 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 generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate 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.