ForthRight Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

ForthRight Wealth Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,302 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 480 shares during the period. Marathon Petroleum accounts for 0.5% of ForthRight Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. ForthRight Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,437,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Albion Financial Group UT increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 1,172 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. White Pine Investment CO raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. White Pine Investment CO now owns 54,008 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,534,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the period. Transform Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 43.2% during the fourth quarter. Transform Wealth LLC now owns 1,997 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,608 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $782,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aspiriant LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 7,250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,011,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MPC. Barclays decreased their price target 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. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.20.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $150.82 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $147.61 and its 200 day moving average is $158.80. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The company has a market cap of $48.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.95, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.42. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $8.14 EPS. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

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.