Sanctuary Advisors LLC Acquires 2,657 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 147,779 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,657 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $22,161,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% during the third 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 during the period. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% during the third 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 during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MPC shares. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $181.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 this link. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC traded down $4.46 on Friday, hitting $153.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,996,223 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,838,191. The company has a market capitalization of $49.43 billion, a PE ratio of 15.49, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $130.54 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $146.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.59.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.98 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.