Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC Has $312,000 Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC lowered its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 44.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,243 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 1,827 shares during the period. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $312,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 4,328,470 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,905,610 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $473,353,000 after buying an additional 235,795 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $217,560,000 after acquiring an additional 415,368 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 1,304,372 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,285,248 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $222,965,000 after purchasing an additional 72,192 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $181.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE MPC traded up $1.13 on Friday, hitting $152.83. 2,479,994 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,802,449. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $130.54 and a twelve month high of $221.11. The company's 50 day moving average price is $147.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $159.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.42. 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 data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The company's revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.14 EPS. Analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.38 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors 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.