RW Investment Management LLC Acquires 223 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

RW Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,046 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the quarter. RW Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $564,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% in the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $33,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $156.79 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.63. 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 12-month low of $130.54 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.41.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.98 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 36.66%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on MPC shares. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Raymond James upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. 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 investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.27.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. This trade represents 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 currently owned by company 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.