Sigma Planning Corp Reduces Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Sigma Planning Corp cut its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 26.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,079 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,147 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $902,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 811.4% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 319 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFS Partners LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $78,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on MPC shares. Barclays upped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Mizuho upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Five research 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, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.77.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total transaction of $170,350.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,994,026.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.7 %

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $199.72 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.52. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $190.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.99. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $104.32 and a twelve month high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $1.77. The firm had revenue of $36.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.90 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 30.58% and a net margin of 6.44%. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 19.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.02%.

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.