Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Bought by Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,038 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,961,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $911,274,000 after purchasing an additional 4,328,470 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $213,605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304,372 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at approximately $114,107,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 846,756 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $137,945,000 after purchasing an additional 576,119 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $217,560,000 after purchasing an additional 415,368 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. cut Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.27.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $146.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.02 billion, a PE ratio of 11.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $156.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $165.42. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $142.57 and a one year high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.14 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 28.84%.

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.