Synovus Financial Corp Trims Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Synovus Financial Corp reduced its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 15.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,610 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 5,030 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $3,852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 762.9% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 302 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MPC. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $169.00 to $147.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $161.00 to $141.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $175.79.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling purchased 2,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. This trade represents a 19.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Evan Bayh purchased 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,266,078.50. This represents a 1.46 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of MPC traded up $3.48 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $127.55. The company had a trading volume of 2,387,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,697,115. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $115.10 and a one year high of $201.36. The company's fifty day moving average price is $140.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.59. The company has a market capitalization of $39.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.98 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

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.