Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Acquired by West Michigan Advisors LLC

West Michigan Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,676 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. West Michigan Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,803,951 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $670,151,000 after purchasing an additional 315,786 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $495,595,000 after purchasing an additional 647,045 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 415,368 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 977,250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $159,204,000 after purchasing an additional 29,008 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $150.07 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $130.54 and a 52-week high of $221.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results 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. 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 prior year, the firm earned $3.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Mizuho decreased their target price 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. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum 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.