Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Stake Reduced by Park National Corp OH

Park National Corp OH trimmed its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 33,110 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 4,563 shares during the quarter. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $4,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% during the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 18,764 shares in the last quarter. Holistic Planning LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth $912,000. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4,227.5% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,759 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,364,000 after purchasing an additional 68,147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 353.4% during the second quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 55,989 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $9,713,000 after purchasing an additional 43,639 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the purchase, 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $184.00.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC stock opened at $141.60 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.60. The company has a market capitalization of $45.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $130.54 and a 1-year high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $8.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.84%.

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.