Ingalls & Snyder LLC Cuts Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Ingalls & Snyder LLC trimmed its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,674 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 251 shares during the period. Ingalls & Snyder LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,187,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $911,274,000 after purchasing an additional 4,328,470 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $495,595,000 after buying an additional 647,045 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $217,560,000 after acquiring an additional 415,368 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $213,605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 3.1% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 977,250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $159,204,000 after acquiring an additional 29,008 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $154.08 on Friday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $145.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $157.21. The firm has a market cap of $49.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.41. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $130.54 and a 12 month high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted 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. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.98 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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 given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective on the stock. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.27.

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.