Vontobel Holding Ltd. Increases Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 52.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,499 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 5,661 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 156,925 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $25,565,000 after purchasing an additional 840 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 8,749 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,425,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 37,791 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $6,157,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 82.6% in the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 2,357 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,281 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho lowered their target price on 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 increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays decreased their price target on 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, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE MPC traded up $1.66 on Thursday, hitting $158.30. 2,464,516 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,858,702. The company has a market cap of $50.87 billion, a PE ratio of 15.94, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.41. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $130.54 and a 12 month high of $221.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $146.32 and a 200-day moving average of $156.63. 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 (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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. Marathon Petroleum's revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.98 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has authorized a share 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 typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders 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 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.66%.

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.