Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Position Trimmed by Cullinan Associates Inc.

Cullinan Associates Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 21.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,460 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 680 shares during the quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% in the 3rd 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 buying an additional 4,328,470 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 647,045 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $217,560,000 after purchasing an additional 415,368 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $213,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 977,250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $159,204,000 after purchasing an additional 29,008 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $156.90 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $157.84. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $130.54 and a one year high of $221.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43, a PEG ratio of 2.77 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.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MPC shares. Raymond James boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Scotiabank cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, 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. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.20.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company 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.