BankPlus Trust Department Acquires Shares of 2,833 Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,833 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $395,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 3.6% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 149,014 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $24,313,000 after acquiring an additional 5,133 shares during the period. Inscription Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 3,340 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 3,005 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $491,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 34.0% during the third quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,235 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 567 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Group Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.3% during the third quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 72,284 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $11,776,000 after buying an additional 951 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MPC. Mizuho dropped their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $181.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE MPC traded up $2.09 on Friday, hitting $150.07. 3,007,752 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,829,086. 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 $48.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $147.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.98 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 purchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum 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.