By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Van ECK Associates Corp reduced its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC – Free Report) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,390 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 5,012 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $8,982,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% during the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth about $33,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Marathon Petroleum Price Performance
MPC stock opened at $156.11 on Monday. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $130.54 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The firm has a market cap of $50.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.93.
Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.98 EPS. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
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 given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.
Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding 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 often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MPC shares. Barclays reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho reduced their target price 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. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.27.
View Our Latest Analysis on MPC
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Marathon Petroleum 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.
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