Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Bought by RFG Advisory LLC

RFG Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 20.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 22,093 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 3,752 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $3,082,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Paragon Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.6% during the second quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,196 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,769,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% during the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $698,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. American Trust grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 5.3% during the third quarter. American Trust now owns 1,397 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.3% during the third quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 2,220 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,171 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE MPC opened at $151.43 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.42. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $130.54 and a 52-week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are usually an indication 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 $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MPC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Raymond James increased their target price 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, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.20.

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.