PFG Investments LLC Buys 486 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

PFG Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,048 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Paragon Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 0.6% in the second quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,196 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,769,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. American Trust grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 5.3% during the third quarter. American Trust now owns 1,397 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Financial Partners Group LLC increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 3.3% during the third quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 2,220 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 3.4% in the fourth 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought 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 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 through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MPC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America began 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 reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Two research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.20.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE MPC opened at $151.45 on Thursday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $130.54 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $146.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.34.

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

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved a stock 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 repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.84%.

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.