Mutual Advisors LLC Has $1.48 Million Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 70.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 9,777 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,054 shares during the quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $911,274,000 after buying an additional 4,328,470 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 8.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,905,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $473,353,000 after buying an additional 235,795 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $217,560,000 after buying an additional 415,368 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $213,605,000 after buying an additional 1,304,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 3.1% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 977,250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $159,204,000 after buying an additional 29,008 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE:MPC opened at $151.43 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $130.54 and a one year high of $221.11. The company has a market cap of $48.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $147.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.69. 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 (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $8.14 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a $0.91 dividend. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 approximately $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MPC. Barclays cut their price target 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. 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. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued 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.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.20.

Marathon Petroleum 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.