Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by ARS Investment Partners LLC

ARS Investment Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 121,005 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,462 shares during the quarter. Marathon Petroleum accounts for approximately 1.5% of ARS Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. ARS Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $16,880,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MPC. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.7% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 7,110 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,234,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4.8% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 159,384 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,649,000 after purchasing an additional 7,245 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter valued at about $611,000. Profund Advisors LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 18,579 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,223,000 after buying an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 69,744 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,099,000 after buying an additional 3,858 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America began coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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 target price 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 assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.20.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.7 %

MPC stock opened at $152.83 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a 50-day moving average of $147.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $159.10. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $130.54 and a 52-week high of $221.11. 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 (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The business 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%. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company 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.