Albion Financial Group UT Purchases 154 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Albion Financial Group UT lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 15.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,172 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 154 shares during the quarter. Albion Financial Group UT’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $163,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 4,328,470 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,304,372 shares during the period. ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth approximately $114,107,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 576,119 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,757,000 after acquiring an additional 501,441 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on MPC shares. Bank of America began coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.20.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $150.82 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $48.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.42. 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 simple moving average of $147.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $158.80. 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 (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $8.14 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought 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 in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.