Westover Capital Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Westover Capital Advisors LLC cut its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 78.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 11,173 shares during the quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 4,328,470 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at $114,107,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% during 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 buying an additional 647,045 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% in 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 buying an additional 576,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MPC. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Mizuho lowered 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 2.9 %

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $145.75 on Tuesday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $130.54 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $148.39 and a 200 day moving average of $155.21. 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 (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $911,124.90. This 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 through the SEC website. Corporate 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.