Bank of New York Mellon Corp Increases Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,803,951 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 315,786 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 1.49% of Marathon Petroleum worth $670,151,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $75,757,000 after purchasing an additional 501,441 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 27.7% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,033,000 after buying an additional 9,355 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake 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 valued at $3,466,000 after buying an additional 18,764 shares during the last quarter. Holistic Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $912,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4,227.5% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,759 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,364,000 after acquiring an additional 68,147 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded 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 assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 1.4 %

MPC opened at $150.60 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $48.40 billion, a PE ratio of 15.17, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a 50 day moving average of $147.27 and a 200-day moving average of $156.07. 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.

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 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.98 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.