Sitrin Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Sitrin Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,826 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 221 shares during the quarter. Marathon Petroleum accounts for 2.2% of Sitrin Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Sitrin Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $4,440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Denali Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 3,500 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,271 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. FourThought Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,600,000. Horizon Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,842 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,803,951 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $670,151,000 after buying an additional 315,786 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of MPC stock opened at $150.60 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.17, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $147.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.07. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $130.54 and a twelve month high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted 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 net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.66%.

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 shares were purchased at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on MPC shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James raised their price objective 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. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.27.

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.