Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA Sells 172 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA lessened its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,692 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 172 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MPC. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. 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 note on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE MPC opened at $154.08 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $49.52 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.41. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $145.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $157.21.

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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The company’s revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.98 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm 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 yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

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.