Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 124,732 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Federated Hermes Inc. trimmed its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 38.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 202,637 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 124,732 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $28,268,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 2,068 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,271 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. American Trust lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Trust now owns 1,397 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 395 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $118.47 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $145.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $149.72. 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 Co. has a one year low of $115.10 and a one year high of $218.00. The firm has a market cap of $36.91 billion, a PE ratio of 11.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.04.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. 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 company posted $3.98 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on MPC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $193.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.29.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Evan Bayh bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. The trade was a 1.46 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. The trade was a 19.68 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.