New York Life Investment Management LLC Sells 1,948 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

New York Life Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 48,117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,948 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $6,712,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $75,757,000 after buying an additional 501,441 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 27.7% during 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. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,466,000 after buying an additional 18,764 shares during the last quarter. Holistic Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth $912,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4,227.5% during 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 buying an additional 68,147 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC stock opened at $150.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $48.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $148.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.76.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.98 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program 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 repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MPC. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Raymond James lifted their price target 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 upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.