Harrell Investment Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Harrell Investment Partners LLC reduced its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 31.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,849 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 14,446 shares during the quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $4,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MPC. Paragon Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,196 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,769,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $698,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. American Trust increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. American Trust now owns 1,397 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 2,220 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,171 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $151.43 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $147.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.58. 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 1-year low of $130.54 and a 1-year high of $221.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.00, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.42.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 buy up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MPC shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James raised their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.