Sigma Planning Corp Grows Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Sigma Planning Corp increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,486 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 1,227 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,602,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Raymond James upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 2.8 %

MPC opened at $153.81 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $49.43 billion, a PE ratio of 15.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $130.54 and a twelve month high of $221.11. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $146.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion for 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 period last year, the company posted $3.98 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

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.