New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 8,548 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,192,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SWS Partners boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 19.0% in the 4th 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. grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $75,757,000 after buying an additional 501,441 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings 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 valued at $3,466,000 after purchasing an additional 18,764 shares in the last quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 161,171 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $22,483,000 after buying an additional 5,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 91,256 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,730,000 after acquiring an additional 2,892 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $144.05 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $151.46. 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 $44.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. 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 (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 the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.98 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MPC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Mizuho cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.21.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Evan Bayh bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the purchase, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly 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 currently owned by insiders.

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.