Ritholtz Wealth Management Lowers Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Ritholtz Wealth Management lessened its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 16.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,132 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 4,317 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $3,087,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $911,274,000 after acquiring an additional 4,328,470 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised 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 in the last quarter. ING Groep NV bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at approximately $114,107,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 576,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC traded up $1.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $152.83. 2,479,994 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,802,449. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 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 12-month low of $130.54 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $147.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $159.31.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $8.14 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 purchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $181.20.

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.