Horizon Advisory Services Inc. Increases Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Horizon Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,842 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the quarter. Horizon Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $257,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,803,951 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $670,151,000 after acquiring an additional 315,786 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $395,000. GHE LLC raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 38,572 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,381,000 after acquiring an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 152.5% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 17,032 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,376,000 after acquiring an additional 10,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 5,021 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $700,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MPC. Mizuho reduced their price target 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. Barclays dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $152.70 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $147.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.07 billion, a PE ratio of 15.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $130.54 and a 1 year high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The business’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought 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 approximately $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.