Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Bought by Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV

Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 21.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,858 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,279 shares during the period. Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MPC. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 147,779 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $22,161,000 after acquiring an additional 2,657 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $101,000. Americana Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 3,224 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $450,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,481 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $486,000 after buying an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MPC traded up $1.66 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $158.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,464,523 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,863,709. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $50.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.41. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $146.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $156.63. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. Marathon Petroleum's revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.98 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase 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 purchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.