Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC reduced its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 384,192 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 11,231 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.12% of Marathon Petroleum worth $53,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SWS Partners boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. SWS Partners now owns 17,577 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,452,000 after purchasing an additional 2,806 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $75,757,000 after acquiring an additional 501,441 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 18,764 shares during the last quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 161,171 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $22,483,000 after acquiring an additional 5,476 shares during the period. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 91,256 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,730,000 after purchasing an additional 2,892 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Evan Bayh acquired 1,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. The trade was a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. This represents a 19.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $147.25 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.87 billion, a PE ratio of 14.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $148.92 and a 200-day moving average of $151.72. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $130.54 and a one year high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.21.

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.