BankPlus Trust Department Buys Shares of 2,833 Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,833 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $395,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% in the third 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. ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $114,107,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $495,595,000 after purchasing an additional 647,045 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 846,756 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $137,945,000 after purchasing an additional 576,119 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% in the fourth 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:MPC opened at $152.70 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $147.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $156.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.07 billion, a PE ratio of 15.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $130.54 and a 12 month high of $221.11. 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 (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.98 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding 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 typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 36.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were 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 directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MPC. Barclays cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.27.

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.