Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by Vestcor Inc

Vestcor Inc lessened its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 59.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,199 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 29,467 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $3,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% in the 3rd 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. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MPC shares. Bank of America started coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. lowered Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.27.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE:MPC opened at $151.06 on Wednesday. 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’s fifty day moving average is $156.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.70. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $141.45 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.40.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.14 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a $0.91 dividend. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Company 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.