234,340 Shares in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Purchased by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 234,340 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $32,690,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Marathon Petroleum at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho lowered 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. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC stock traded down $4.43 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $145.75. 2,714,514 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,826,225. The stock's 50-day moving average is $148.39 and its 200-day moving average is $155.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $46.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.98 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is 36.66%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.