Gabelli Funds LLC Cuts Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Gabelli Funds LLC lowered its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 234,200 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 6,050 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC owned about 0.07% of Marathon Petroleum worth $32,671,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SWS Partners grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. SWS Partners now owns 17,577 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,452,000 after acquiring an additional 2,806 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% in the fourth 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. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,275 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,466,000 after buying an additional 18,764 shares during the last quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 161,171 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $22,483,000 after purchasing an additional 5,476 shares during the period. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 91,256 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $12,730,000 after buying an additional 2,892 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $161.00 to $141.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $193.00 to $183.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $175.79.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:MPC traded up $3.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $127.55. The company had a trading volume of 2,387,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,697,115. The company has a market capitalization of $39.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.04. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $115.10 and a one year high of $201.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $140.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.59. 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 (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The business's revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.98 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is 36.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $134.72 per share, with a total value of $269,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,638,464.64. This represents a 19.68 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Evan Bayh acquired 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. This represents a 1.46 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.