Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Acquired by Empirical Asset Management LLC

Empirical Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 37.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,213 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,691 shares during the quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $867,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 4,328,470 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% during the third 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 buying an additional 1,304,372 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at $114,107,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 846,756 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $137,945,000 after acquiring an additional 576,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $75,757,000 after purchasing an additional 501,441 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MPC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $181.20.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

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

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock traded up $1.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $152.83. 2,479,994 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,802,449. The business has a 50-day moving average of $147.76 and a 200-day moving average of $159.21. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $130.54 and a 1 year high of $221.11. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $49.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.42.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. 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 quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.14 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program 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 reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.