Private Wealth Management Group LLC Sells 86 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Private Wealth Management Group LLC lessened its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 21.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 310 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 86 shares during the quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $43,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $75,757,000 after acquiring an additional 501,441 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 27.7% in the 3rd 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 period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,466,000 after acquiring an additional 18,764 shares during the period. Holistic Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth $912,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4,227.5% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,759 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,364,000 after acquiring an additional 68,147 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MPC. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $157.22 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.46, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $130.54 and a one year high of $221.11. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $146.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $157.78.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is 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.