Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators Buys 143 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 10.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,498 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MPC. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 48,221 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,856,000 after purchasing an additional 1,080 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $213,605,000 after buying an additional 1,304,372 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 1,640 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,129 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,650,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 10,579 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,723,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MPC. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Raymond James increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $153.81 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $146.72 and its 200-day moving average is $156.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.43 billion, a PE ratio of 15.49, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.41. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $130.54 and a fifty-two 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 the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.98 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management 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.