Americana Partners LLC Has $450,000 Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Americana Partners LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 27.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,224 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the quarter. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $698,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $139,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. American Trust grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 5.3% during 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 in the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 395 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Partners Group LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 2,220 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $159.25 on Wednesday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $130.54 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The company has a 50-day moving average of $146.06 and a 200 day moving average of $156.67. The firm has a market cap of $51.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.04, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.41. 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, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.98 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on MPC. Raymond James increased their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.27.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company 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.