Atomi Financial Group Inc. Sells 665 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Atomi Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,045 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 665 shares during the quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $843,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $911,274,000 after acquiring an additional 4,328,470 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,905,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $473,353,000 after purchasing an additional 235,795 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $217,560,000 after purchasing an additional 415,368 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $213,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 17.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,197,401 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $207,186,000 after buying an additional 180,213 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 2.2 %

NYSE:MPC opened at $147.51 on Thursday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $147.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $158.80. The firm has a market cap of $47.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.42. 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 (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.14 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was 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 approximately $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on MPC shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.20.

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.