Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. Sells 215 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. lessened its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,657 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 215 shares during the quarter. Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% during 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 bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 762.9% during the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 302 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.21.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE MPC opened at $148.62 on Wednesday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $130.54 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $149.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $151.77. The company has a market capitalization of $46.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.97, 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 (NYSE:MPC) last issued 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 business 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 in the prior year, the business posted $3.98 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 36.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Evan Bayh bought 1,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the acquisition, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $134.72 per share, with a total value of $269,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.