D.A. Davidson & CO. Acquires 2,740 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,800 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,740 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $3,878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $75,757,000 after buying an additional 501,441 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 27.7% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,033,000 after buying an additional 9,355 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,466,000 after buying an additional 18,764 shares in the last quarter. Holistic Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth $912,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4,227.5% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,759 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,364,000 after buying an additional 68,147 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MPC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $158.30 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $50.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.94, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $146.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $130.54 and a 1-year high of $221.11.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The business’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.98 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan 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 buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business 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 2.30%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

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.