Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by Kwmg LLC

Kwmg LLC cut its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,645 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,248 shares during the period. Kwmg LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $8,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,153,636 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $764,526,000 after purchasing an additional 137,341 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 4,102,057 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $608,581,000 after buying an additional 96,753 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $500,685,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,341,364 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $347,365,000 after buying an additional 178,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,624,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $245,917,000 after buying an additional 82,576 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MPC shares. StockNews.com downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Barclays decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $221.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.08.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC traded down $0.82 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $174.37. The stock had a trading volume of 746,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,722,805. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $180.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.35. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $112.42 and a 1-year high of $221.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.25. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 25.87%. The business had revenue of $32.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.07 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.09 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 18.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.48%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to purchase up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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.