Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Lowers Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 186,790 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,144 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned about 0.06% of Marathon Petroleum worth $26,057,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. SWS Partners boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. SWS Partners now owns 17,577 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,452,000 after acquiring an additional 2,806 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% during 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 during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,466,000 after acquiring an additional 18,764 shares during the period. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 161,171 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $22,483,000 after acquiring an additional 5,476 shares during the period. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 91,256 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,730,000 after acquiring an additional 2,892 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE:MPC opened at $149.62 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $149.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $152.32. The company has a market capitalization of $46.61 billion, a PE ratio of 15.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $130.54 and a 52-week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.98 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid 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 2.43%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MPC shares. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.27.

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.