Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Purchased by Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 37.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,244 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 607 shares during the quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $313,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. SWS Partners boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. SWS Partners now owns 17,577 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,452,000 after purchasing an additional 2,806 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 501,441 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% in 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. increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 161,171 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $22,483,000 after acquiring an additional 5,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 91,256 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,730,000 after purchasing an additional 2,892 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Mizuho reduced their target price 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. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.21.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 2.2 %

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $144.05 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $130.54 and a twelve month high of $221.11. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $148.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $151.59.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The company 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%. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.98 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Ricky D. Hessling acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Evan Bayh bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $133.70 per share, with a total value 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. The trade was a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 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.