Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV Cuts Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lessened its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 14.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,736 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 303 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $411,000. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 4,772 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $666,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. one8zero8 LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $617,000. Choate Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 11,652 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,625,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 234,763 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $32,749,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.13.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE:MPC opened at $149.37 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $148.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $152.52. The company has a market capitalization of $46.53 billion, a PE ratio of 15.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $130.54 and a 1-year high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The company’s revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.98 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

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.