By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Avantra Family Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC – Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 8,521 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,189,000. Marathon Petroleum accounts for about 1.1% of Avantra Family Wealth Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MPC. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $75,757,000 after purchasing an additional 501,441 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 27.7% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,033,000 after purchasing an additional 9,355 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Holistic Planning LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth approximately $912,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 4,227.5% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,759 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,364,000 after purchasing an additional 68,147 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts recently commented on MPC shares. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup dropped 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. Bank of America assumed coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.20.
Check Out Our Latest Report on MPC
Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 3.1 %
Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $145.37 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $158.02. 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 12 month low of $130.54 and a 12 month high of $221.11. The stock has a market cap of $46.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.42.
Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 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 net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $8.14 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.84%.
Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program 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 buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
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.
Further Reading
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