Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV Trims Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV trimmed its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 45.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,310 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,795 shares during the period. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Gleason Group Inc. raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 75.2% in the third quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 191 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC traded down $8.07 on Thursday, hitting $194.39. 1,627,836 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,833,644. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $188.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $164.38. The firm has a market cap of $70.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.52. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $104.32 and a one year high of $221.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $1.77. The company had revenue of $36.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.90 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 30.58% and a net margin of 6.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 17.53 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 14.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total value of $170,350.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,994,026.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MPC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Scotiabank raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.77.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.