Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by Raleigh Capital Management Inc.

Raleigh Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,753 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 121 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $245,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MPC. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. 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. 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. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.20.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 4.6 %

MPC opened at $154.37 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $158.72. 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 market cap of $49.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.42. 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 (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The company’s revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $8.14 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Company 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.