Welch Group LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Welch Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,350 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 199 shares during the quarter. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $319,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Czech National Bank raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 68,178 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,107,000 after buying an additional 1,038 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 5.4% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,856 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,769,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the period. Everpar Advisors LLC increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 14.3% during the third quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 2,081 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 5.9% in the third quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC now owns 1,371 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 2.2% in the third quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 9,510 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,549,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of MPC opened at $147.17 on Tuesday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $130.54 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $47.30 billion, a PE ratio of 11.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s 50 day moving average is $146.26 and its 200 day moving average is $157.96.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. Research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced 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 reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.47%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 28.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James upped their price target 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. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Mizuho dropped their price target 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. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.