Symmetry Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Symmetry Partners LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,106 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $433,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SWS Partners grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. SWS Partners now owns 17,577 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,452,000 after buying an additional 2,806 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $75,757,000 after purchasing an additional 501,441 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,466,000 after purchasing an additional 18,764 shares during the period. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 161,171 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $22,483,000 after purchasing an additional 5,476 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 4,227.5% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,759 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,364,000 after purchasing an additional 68,147 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MPC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.13.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of MPC stock opened at $149.37 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.52. 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 twelve month low of $130.54 and a twelve month high of $221.11. The company has a market capitalization of $46.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.04, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 36.66%.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

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

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.