Veracity Capital LLC Has $568,000 Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Veracity Capital LLC reduced its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 14.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,074 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 692 shares during the period. Veracity Capital LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Paragon Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 0.6% during the second quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,196 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,769,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $698,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. American Trust boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Trust now owns 1,397 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Financial Partners Group LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 2,220 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,171 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE MPC opened at $154.37 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $147.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.72. The stock has a market cap of $49.61 billion, a PE ratio of 12.23, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $130.54 and a fifty-two week 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 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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 issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. 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 payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on MPC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. Citigroup lowered their price objective on 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, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.20.

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.