Stonebridge Financial Group LLC Takes $2.99 Million Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 21,421 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,988,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 18,937 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,642,000 after buying an additional 4,508 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 2,350 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $328,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. swisspartners Advisors Ltd boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. swisspartners Advisors Ltd now owns 22,065 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,078,000 after purchasing an additional 2,340 shares during the period. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,461 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on MPC shares. Bank of America initiated 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. Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE:MPC opened at $153.84 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a 50-day moving average of $145.91 and a 200-day moving average of $157.51. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The company has a market capitalization of $49.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.41.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 2.37%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

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.