World Investment Advisors Decreases Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

World Investment Advisors cut its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 23.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 53,678 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 16,081 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $7,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SWS Partners increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,806 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 501,441 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% during the third 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 holdings 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 valued at $22,483,000 after purchasing an additional 5,476 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 91,256 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,730,000 after buying an additional 2,892 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:MPC opened at $148.02 on Thursday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $151.21. 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 company has a market cap of $46.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.98 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $193.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price 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. Finally, 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 note on Monday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

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

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.