PFG Advisors Reduces Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

PFG Advisors reduced its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 15.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,876 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,257 shares during the quarter. PFG Advisors’ holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $959,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 44.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 294 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth about $225,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 478,876 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $78,014,000 after purchasing an additional 49,523 shares during the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 6,279 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 6,315 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of MPC stock opened at $136.82 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $42.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $130.54 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $148.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.39.

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

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Evan Bayh purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. This represents 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 the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $134.72 per share, with a total value of $269,440.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. The trade was a 19.68 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.