Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Purchased by Nilsine Partners LLC

Nilsine Partners LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,683 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,746 shares during the period. Nilsine Partners LLC's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $4,559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $911,274,000 after purchasing an additional 4,328,470 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $495,595,000 after acquiring an additional 647,045 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% in 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 in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $213,605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 977,250 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $159,204,000 after purchasing an additional 29,008 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 3.1 %

MPC stock traded down $4.59 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $145.37. 2,720,862 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,775,156. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $130.54 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $146.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $158.23. The company has a market capitalization of $46.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.52, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.42.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $8.14 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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 paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.20.

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.