Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Stock Position Decreased by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. trimmed its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,974 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 3,360 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $4,460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $911,274,000 after acquiring an additional 4,328,470 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,905,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $473,353,000 after acquiring an additional 235,795 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $217,560,000 after acquiring an additional 415,368 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $213,605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 977,250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $159,204,000 after buying an additional 29,008 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired 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 directly owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $151.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market cap of $48.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.42. The business’s fifty day moving average is $147.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.58. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $8.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is 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. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 28.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on MPC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America started coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has an average 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.