Brookstone Capital Management Purchases 25,171 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Brookstone Capital Management increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 67.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,385 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 25,171 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $8,703,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $911,274,000 after buying an additional 4,328,470 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,905,610 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $473,353,000 after purchasing an additional 235,795 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $217,560,000 after purchasing an additional 415,368 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $213,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304,372 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,285,248 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $222,965,000 after purchasing an additional 72,192 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MPC shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $183.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company's stock, 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 available through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:MPC traded up $2.79 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $149.54. The stock had a trading volume of 2,510,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,051,072. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $130.54 and a 12-month high of $221.11. 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 50 day simple moving average of $147.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $159.74. The stock has a market cap of $48.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.42.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The company's revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.14 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.