Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Purchases Shares of 112,182 Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 112,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,649,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the transaction, 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 this link. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MPC. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC stock opened at $156.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $146.00 and a 200 day moving average of $157.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.72, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.41. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the firm posted $3.98 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan 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 buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.66%.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.