Brewster Financial Planning LLC Buys New Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Brewster Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 1,927 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $269,000. Marathon Petroleum accounts for approximately 0.2% of Brewster Financial Planning LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% during the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $698,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. American Trust grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 5.3% during the third quarter. American Trust now owns 1,397 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.3% in the third quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 2,220 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,171 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPC has been the subject of several research reports. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.20.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:MPC opened at $145.37 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.72 billion, a PE ratio of 11.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.42. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $130.54 and a twelve month high of $221.11. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $146.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.23.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The firm’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.14 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

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.