Ritholtz Wealth Management Grows Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 22,365 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 934 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $3,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 7.2% in the third quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,060 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% in the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,465 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $676,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.6% in the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,030 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $459,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4.0% during the third quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors now owns 1,965 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,532 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total transaction of $170,350.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,994,026.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MPC has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com raised Marathon Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 9th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $163.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.09.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of MPC opened at $201.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $174.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.56, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.50. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $104.32 and a one year high of $203.01.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $1.77. The company had revenue of $36.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.90 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 30.58% and a net margin of 6.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.65 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 15.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.02%.

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.