Saxon Interests Inc. Sells 1,056 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Saxon Interests Inc. cut its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,799 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,056 shares during the period. Saxon Interests Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased 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 owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of MPC opened at $150.44 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.35 billion, a PE ratio of 11.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 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. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $8.14 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan 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 reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MPC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $183.73.

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.