Ieq Capital LLC Purchases 31,463 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 137.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 54,331 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 31,463 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $7,579,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position 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 during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,174 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $7,033,000 after acquiring an additional 9,355 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,275 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,466,000 after purchasing an additional 18,764 shares during the period. Holistic Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at about $912,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4,227.5% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,759 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $11,364,000 after purchasing an additional 68,147 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC traded down $0.86 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $152.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,516,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,798,772. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $130.54 and a one year high of $221.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $146.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $156.40.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date 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 program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho reduced their target price 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. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.27.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value 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. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.