Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lowered its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 133,374 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 7,222 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $18,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% in the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was 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 in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of MPC traded up $2.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $150.07. 3,007,752 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,829,086. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $130.54 and a 52-week high of $221.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.62. The firm has a market cap of $48.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. Marathon Petroleum's revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.98 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has authorized 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 purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on MPC. 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 report on Wednesday, February 5th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $181.27.

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.