QRG Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

QRG Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 26.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 91,552 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 32,729 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $12,771,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 34.0% during the third quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,235 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 567 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 3,074 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $501,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 436 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 20.4% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 42,389 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $6,289,000 after acquiring an additional 7,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,790 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MPC shares. Mizuho lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $181.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock traded down $4.43 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $145.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,712,440 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,826,097. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $46.84 billion, a PE 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. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $148.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.46.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 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 firm had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.98 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock 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 buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Company 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.