CX Institutional Boosts Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

CX Institutional boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 31.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,580 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,398 shares during the quarter. CX Institutional's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $6,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the acquisition, 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 1.9 %

Marathon Petroleum stock traded down $2.88 on Friday, hitting $151.43. 4,318,847 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,963,184. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $48.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.42. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $147.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.69. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $130.54 and a 1 year high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.14 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan 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 purchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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 issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MPC shares. Raymond James lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America started coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank lowered their target price on 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. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $181.20.

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.