Fifth Third Bancorp Has $82.49 Million Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Fifth Third Bancorp lowered its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 591,343 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 51,718 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $82,492,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake 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 worth $911,274,000 after purchasing an additional 4,328,470 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $213,605,000 after buying an additional 1,304,372 shares during the period. ING Groep NV bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth about $114,107,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake 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 valued at $137,945,000 after acquiring an additional 576,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 501,441 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of MPC opened at $151.43 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.67 billion, a PE ratio of 12.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $147.30 and its 200-day moving average is $158.69. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $130.54 and a 12 month high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $8.14 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on MPC. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. 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. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.20.

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.