Kovack Advisors Inc. Grows Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,400 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 329 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $474,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $600,000 after buying an additional 699 shares in the last quarter. Convergence Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Convergence Financial LLC now owns 5,943 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $829,000 after buying an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Sitrin Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Sitrin Capital Management LLC now owns 31,826 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,440,000 after buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 3,500 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,271 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $596,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MPC shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.27.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

MPC stock opened at $150.07 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $48.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $130.54 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $148.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.76.

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

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.