Savant Capital LLC Has $6.41 Million Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Savant Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 25.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 45,911 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,371 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $6,405,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% in the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on MPC. Barclays reduced 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 report on Monday, November 11th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought 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 directly owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 2.5 %

MPC opened at $153.84 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $49.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $157.51. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.98 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

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

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback 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 buy up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.