Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Purchased by SWS Partners

SWS Partners increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,577 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,806 shares during the period. SWS Partners’ holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,452,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 2,068 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,271 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. American Trust raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Trust now owns 1,397 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 395 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 2.9 %

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $145.75 on Tuesday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $130.54 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $148.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.21. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is 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.