Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Lowers Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC decreased its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 177,731 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 22,493 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $24,794,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 42.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,459 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at about $718,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 237.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 69,402 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,671,000 after purchasing an additional 48,814 shares during the period. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth about $68,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $145.75 on Tuesday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $130.54 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $148.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.21. The company has a market cap of $46.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23.

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, beating 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 firm had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.98 earnings per share. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 2.50%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 36.66%.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the firm’s 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MPC. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Mizuho cut 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 report on Monday, December 16th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.