Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC Purchases 3,243 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 31.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,671 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,243 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,907,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% during the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $698,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. American Trust grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 5.3% in the third quarter. American Trust now owns 1,397 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.3% in the third quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 2,220 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,171 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought 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 in the company, valued at $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 this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 1.0 %

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $155.31 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $145.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $157.39. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The firm has a market cap of $49.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.41.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.