Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY Grows Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,560 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $915,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% in the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MPC. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $183.73.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of MPC traded up $4.56 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $146.83. 3,644,641 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,123,738. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $147.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $159.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $47.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63, 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.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.14 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.84%.

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.