Augustine Asset Management Inc. Sells 165 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Augustine Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,926 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 165 shares during the period. Augustine Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 1.0 %

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $155.31 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $49.91 billion, a PE ratio of 15.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $145.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $157.39. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $130.54 and a 12 month high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.98 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 36.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MPC. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. 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. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.27.

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.