QRG Capital Management Inc. Trims Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

QRG Capital Management Inc. cut its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 26.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 91,552 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 32,729 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $12,771,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MPC. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% in the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth $30,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho reduced their price objective 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. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.27.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC stock opened at $148.06 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.98 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

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

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.