Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 109,117 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 7,008 shares during the quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $15,222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in 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 worth $75,757,000 after buying an additional 501,441 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,174 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $7,033,000 after purchasing an additional 9,355 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% during 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 during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $912,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4,227.5% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,759 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $11,364,000 after purchasing an additional 68,147 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of MPC traded down $1.52 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $149.87. The company had a trading volume of 2,084,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,780,481. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $146.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $158.29. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $48.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.42. 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 data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.14 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MPC. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given 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.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $181.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.