Hixon Zuercher LLC Buys 110 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Hixon Zuercher LLC raised its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,176 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Hixon Zuercher LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $583,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Paragon Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,196 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,769,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. American Trust lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 5.3% in the third quarter. American Trust now owns 1,397 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Partners Group LLC increased 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 in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.20.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $149.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a fifty day moving average of $146.71 and a 200 day moving average of $158.29. The company has a market capitalization of $48.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.42. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $130.54 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $8.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has initiated a share buyback 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 purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum 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.