Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by Phoenix Wealth Advisors

Phoenix Wealth Advisors trimmed its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 17,312 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 407 shares during the quarter. Phoenix Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 4,328,470 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 8.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,905,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $473,353,000 after acquiring an additional 235,795 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $217,560,000 after acquiring an additional 415,368 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in the third 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 period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 17.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,197,401 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $207,186,000 after acquiring an additional 180,213 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE MPC opened at $150.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.42. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $130.54 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The business’s fifty day moving average is $147.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $8.14 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 28.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America began coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.20.

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.