KBC Group NV Purchases 215,138 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPCFree Report) by 151.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 356,986 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 215,138 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $49,800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 501,441 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 27.7% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,033,000 after buying an additional 9,355 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,466,000 after buying an additional 18,764 shares during the period. Holistic Planning LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at $912,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4,227.5% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,759 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,364,000 after acquiring an additional 68,147 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director now 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.20.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Marathon Petroleum

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

MPC opened at $152.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $147.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $158.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.07 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.42. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $130.54 and a 12-month high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPCGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The firm’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $8.14 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program 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 repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors 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 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

About Marathon Petroleum

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC)

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