Burney Co. Decreases Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Burney Co. trimmed its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 32.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 30,493 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 14,667 shares during the period. Burney Co.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $4,254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 4,328,470 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $213,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304,372 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $114,107,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 846,756 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $137,945,000 after purchasing an additional 576,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,757,000 after purchasing an additional 501,441 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $152.05 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.05, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.42. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $130.54 and a 12 month high of $221.11. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $147.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.14 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MPC. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $183.73.

Insider Activity

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.