Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Sells 751 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,495 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 751 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 4,328,470 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,803,951 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $670,151,000 after acquiring an additional 315,786 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 647,045 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,807,566 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $398,388,000 after buying an additional 428,708 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,485,925 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $346,787,000 after buying an additional 67,913 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Evan Bayh bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. The trade was a 1.46 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. The trade was a 19.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 3.1 %

MPC opened at $141.23 on Monday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $130.54 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a market capitalization of $44.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $148.36 and a 200-day moving average of $152.93.

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

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.13.

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.