Elm3 Financial Group LLC Makes New $574,000 Investment in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Elm3 Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,113 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,000.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MPC. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.2 %

MPC opened at $157.22 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $157.78. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The stock has a market cap of $50.53 billion, a PE ratio of 12.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.41.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.98 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.