Cynosure Group LLC Has $956,000 Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Cynosure Group LLC reduced its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,853 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 120 shares during the period. Cynosure Group LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 5.2% during the third quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 16,497 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,688,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth about $218,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $803,000. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 6,205 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,011,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Mizuho dropped 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. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Evan Bayh bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 69,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. The trade was a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling purchased 2,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,638,464.64. This trade represents a 19.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $146.69 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $130.54 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The stock has a market cap of $45.70 billion, a PE ratio of 14.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $148.52 and a 200-day moving average of $151.23.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The company’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.98 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.