Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Holdings Lowered by Fruth Investment Management

Fruth Investment Management lessened its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,638 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 84 shares during the quarter. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.5% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 68,178 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 80.1% in the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 20,595 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,355,000 after buying an additional 9,161 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 68.7% during the 3rd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,710 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,093,000 after acquiring an additional 2,733 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 31.8% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 37,214 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,063,000 after purchasing an additional 8,978 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 19,888 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,240,000 after purchasing an additional 3,399 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MPC. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:MPC opened at $157.22 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a market capitalization of $50.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $146.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $157.78. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.98 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.