Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by Hartford Investment Management Co.

Hartford Investment Management Co. lowered its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,846 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,243 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,769,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $911,274,000 after buying an additional 4,328,470 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $213,605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304,372 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth about $114,107,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $495,595,000 after purchasing an additional 647,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% during 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 3.9 %

Shares of MPC stock opened at $149.26 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $130.54 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $145.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $157.27. The stock has a market cap of $47.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $3.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.7 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in 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 usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MPC. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. 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 report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays dropped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.27.

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.