Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by Hartford Financial Management Inc.

Hartford Financial Management Inc. cut its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,792 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 175 shares during the quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,226,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $75,757,000 after buying an additional 501,441 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,033,000 after acquiring an additional 9,355 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,466,000 after acquiring an additional 18,764 shares during the period. Holistic Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at about $912,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4,227.5% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,759 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,364,000 after purchasing an additional 68,147 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MPC shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.20.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $149.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $130.54 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.17 billion, a PE ratio of 11.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.42. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $146.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.29.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

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.