CX Institutional Raises Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

CX Institutional grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 31.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,580 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 10,398 shares during the quarter. CX Institutional’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $6,079,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 3,508 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $609,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1,037.7% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 12,207 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,118,000 after acquiring an additional 11,134 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 51.8% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 69,017 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,973,000 after acquiring an additional 23,541 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 176,626 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $30,641,000 after acquiring an additional 2,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 28.6% during the 2nd quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 2,491 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $155.18 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $49.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.42. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $130.54 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $158.72.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released 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. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $8.14 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a $0.91 dividend. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has approved 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 reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased 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 note on Monday, November 11th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America began coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company 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 given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.20.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.