PDS Planning Inc Cuts Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

PDS Planning Inc decreased its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,505 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 346 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $349,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Mystic Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $1,206,000. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 91,256 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $12,730,000 after purchasing an additional 2,892 shares in the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 55.2% during the fourth quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC now owns 2,084 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 741 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 382.2% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 223,913 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $31,236,000 after purchasing an additional 177,480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $411,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at $1,638,464.64. The trade was a 19.68 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Evan Bayh bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at $9,266,078.50. This trade represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James boosted 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, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.13.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:MPC opened at $146.00 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.70, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s 50-day moving average is $148.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $152.54. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $130.54 and a 1-year high of $221.11.

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

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

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.