Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Director Purchases $897,660.00 in Stock

Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of MPC stock opened at $150.94 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $48.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.39. 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 $140.98 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $156.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $8.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved 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 management believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MPC. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.07.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 27.7% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,033,000 after buying an additional 9,355 shares during the last quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.8% in the second quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 4,972 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $863,000 after buying an additional 924 shares during the last quarter. Holistic Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth $912,000. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 353.4% in the second quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 55,989 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $9,713,000 after buying an additional 43,639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 14.8% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 46,365 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,553,000 after buying an additional 5,972 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.