FourThought Financial Partners LLC Buys New Shares in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 32,975 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $4,600,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Horizon Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,842 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,803,951 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $670,151,000 after buying an additional 315,786 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $395,000. GHE LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 38,572 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,381,000 after acquiring an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 152.5% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 17,032 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,376,000 after acquiring an additional 10,286 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Mizuho cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.27.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC traded up $2.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $150.07. 3,007,752 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,829,086. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $147.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.98 EPS. The company's revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.