Gryphon Financial Partners LLC Decreases Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Gryphon Financial Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 30.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,384 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 1,955 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Auxano Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 2,643 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,010 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $442,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $133,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 242,342 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $33,807,000 after acquiring an additional 59,563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 187.8% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,645 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 1,726 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $181.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

MPC traded down $4.43 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $145.75. 2,714,514 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,826,225. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $148.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. 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 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. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $31.94 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.98 earnings per share. Marathon Petroleum's quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock 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 repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are 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.