WR Wealth Planners LLC Reduces Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

WR Wealth Planners LLC cut its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 14.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 549 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 96 shares during the quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $77,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC boosted 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $30,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MPC shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho reduced 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 upped their price target 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. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:MPC opened at $150.07 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $48.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $130.54 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.62.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The business’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.98 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program 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 purchase 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.

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.