Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 30.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,037 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $145,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,961,503 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,389,630,000 after buying an additional 4,367,774 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth about $453,427,000. Boston Partners raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 37.4% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,436,704 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $480,501,000 after acquiring an additional 935,042 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 boosted 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 worth $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, insider Ricky D. Hessling bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $134.72 per share, with a total value of $269,440.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at $1,638,464.64. This represents a 19.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Evan Bayh purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at $9,266,078.50. This trade represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the topic of several research reports. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $193.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.29.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:MPC opened at $121.02 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $115.97 and a 1-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 business has a 50 day moving average of $147.41 and a 200 day moving average of $150.77. The company has a market capitalization of $37.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.19, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

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.