Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 97 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,244 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 97 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position 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. ING Groep NV acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at about $114,107,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $495,595,000 after acquiring an additional 647,045 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of 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. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,757,000 after purchasing an additional 501,441 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $152.70 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.24. The company has a market capitalization of $49.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $130.54 and a 52-week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released 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. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on MPC shares. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.27.

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.