Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Takes Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 112,182 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $15,649,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% during the 3rd 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 grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,304,372 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at about $114,107,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $495,595,000 after purchasing an additional 647,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 846,756 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $137,945,000 after purchasing an additional 576,119 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MPC. 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 report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $181.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC stock traded down $2.24 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $156.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,549,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,867,560. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm's 50-day moving average is $146.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.63. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $130.54 and a 1-year high of $221.11. The company has a market cap of $50.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.79, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.41.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.98 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program 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 repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are 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.