Cidel Asset Management Inc. Buys 822 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 13.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,923 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 822 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $966,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $75,757,000 after acquiring an additional 501,441 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,033,000 after buying an additional 9,355 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,466,000 after purchasing an additional 18,764 shares during the period. Holistic Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $912,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 4,227.5% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,759 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,364,000 after buying an additional 68,147 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on MPC. Raymond James increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 1.2 %

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $150.13 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.41. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $130.54 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $146.03 and a 200 day moving average of $157.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.98 EPS. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

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.