Centric Wealth Management Raises Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Centric Wealth Management lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,620 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 757 shares during the period. Marathon Petroleum accounts for 1.4% of Centric Wealth Management’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Centric Wealth Management’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $4,246,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $180.82. 830,970 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,741,319. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $104.32 and a twelve month high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $63.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.04, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.55. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $194.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $168.73.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $32.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.07 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 25.87% and a net margin of 5.32%. The firm’s revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.09 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 19.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 16.48%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to purchase up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup began coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $221.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.62.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total transaction of $170,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,994,026.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.