Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. Reduces Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. lowered its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,625 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% in the third 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 lifted its position 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 buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. American Trust lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 5.3% in the third quarter. American Trust now owns 1,397 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 395 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Partners Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.3% in the third quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 2,220 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 2.8 %

MPC opened at $153.81 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $130.54 and a one year high of $221.11. The stock has a market cap of $49.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $146.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.59. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company 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 firm earned $3.98 earnings per share. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

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 paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MPC shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Raymond James upped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were bought at an average price 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 in the company, valued at $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.