Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Sells 451 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. reduced its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,953 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 451 shares during the quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $3,696,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 68,178 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares in the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 261 shares during the period. Smith Anglin Financial LLC raised its stake 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 worth $223,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 80.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 20,595 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,355,000 after acquiring an additional 9,161 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MPC. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.20.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 6.7 %

MPC stock opened at $156.90 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $130.54 and a 1-year high of $221.11. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $146.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $157.78.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.98 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.