Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. Buys 942 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,902 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 942 shares during the period. Marathon Petroleum comprises approximately 1.4% of Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $3,892,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora raised 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 valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. American Trust lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 5.3% in the third quarter. American Trust now owns 1,397 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 2,220 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,171 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective 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. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.20.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $145.37 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $130.54 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. The company has a market cap of $46.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.52, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $158.08.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 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 company had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $8.14 EPS. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

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

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

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. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.