Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lowered its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,685 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 6,140 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $8,744,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 3.7% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 7,110 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,234,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 159,384 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $27,649,000 after purchasing an additional 7,245 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 5.9% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 69,744 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $12,099,000 after buying an additional 3,858 shares in the last quarter. Certified Advisory Corp grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 1,616 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 3,508 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $609,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 2.2 %

NYSE:MPC traded down $3.31 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $147.51. 3,309,627 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,861,042. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $130.54 and a twelve month high of $221.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $147.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $158.80. The company has a market capitalization of $47.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The firm's revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $8.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. 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 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is 28.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on MPC. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $181.20.

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.