Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. Increases Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 18.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,881 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,019 shares during the period. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $5,424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $911,274,000 after buying an additional 4,328,470 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $213,605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304,372 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth approximately $114,107,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $495,595,000 after purchasing an additional 647,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 846,756 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $137,945,000 after purchasing an additional 576,119 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. 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. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of MPC stock opened at $153.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $130.54 and a one year high of $221.11. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $146.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.59. The company has a market capitalization of $49.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.41.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.98 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan 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 purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.66%.

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.