Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Holdings Decreased by Fractal Investments LLC

Fractal Investments LLC cut its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 42.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,291 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,720 shares during the quarter. Fractal Investments LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $320,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $911,274,000 after buying an additional 4,328,470 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,304,372 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at $114,107,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $495,595,000 after purchasing an additional 647,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 846,756 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $137,945,000 after purchasing an additional 576,119 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE:MPC opened at $157.22 on Thursday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $130.54 and a one year high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $146.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $157.78. The company has a market cap of $50.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.41.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 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 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.98 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MPC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.27.

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.