Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Purchased by Jones Financial Companies Lllp

Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 32.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 242,342 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 59,563 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp owned about 0.08% of Marathon Petroleum worth $33,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted 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 valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 1,726 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 6,434 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $897,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 6,506 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $882,000 after buying an additional 1,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 762.9% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 302 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MPC shares. Raymond James upped their price target 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 raised Marathon Petroleum from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued 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 company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC stock traded down $4.43 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $145.75. The company had a trading volume of 2,714,514 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,826,225. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $130.54 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a market capitalization of $46.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $148.15 and a 200-day moving average of $155.46.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) 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 in the prior year, the business earned $3.98 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has approved a share buyback 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 buy up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is 36.66%.

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.