Xponance Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Xponance Inc. trimmed its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,792 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,173 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $8,759,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MPC. Claro Advisors LLC raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 32.5% in the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 1,710 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 23.0% in the third quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 13,955 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,273,000 after purchasing an additional 2,609 shares in the last quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 3.5% in the third quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC now owns 10,107 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,646,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $231,000. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,876,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC stock opened at $146.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $148.56 and a 200 day moving average of $152.54. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.70, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 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 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.98 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 36.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MPC. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Evan Bayh acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 69,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,266,078.50. This represents a 1.46 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $134.72 per share, with a total value of $269,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. This trade represents a 19.68 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.