Burney Co. Sells 14,667 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Burney Co. cut its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 32.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 30,493 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 14,667 shares during the period. Burney Co.'s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $4,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth about $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MPC. BMO Capital Markets lowered 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. Citigroup cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $183.73.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:MPC traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $151.74. The stock had a trading volume of 1,862,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,872,804. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $130.54 and a twelve 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 market cap of $48.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.42. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $147.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $159.52.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.14 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum's dividend 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 buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.