Mutual Advisors LLC Purchases 4,054 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 70.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,777 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,054 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $911,274,000 after buying an additional 4,328,470 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $213,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304,372 shares during the period. ING Groep NV purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $114,107,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 846,756 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $137,945,000 after purchasing an additional 576,119 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock traded down $2.88 during trading on Friday, hitting $151.43. 4,318,848 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,236,087. The stock has a market cap of $48.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.00, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.42. 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 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The firm's fifty day moving average is $147.18 and its 200-day moving average is $158.58.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.14 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. BMO Capital Markets dropped 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. 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, Scotiabank dropped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.