Auxano Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Auxano Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,386 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 262 shares during the quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $354,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Scotiabank raised their price objective 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. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $193.77.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPC traded down $18.79 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $181.72. 5,757,997 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,784,709. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.44. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $104.32 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The company has a market cap of $65.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.03, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.59.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $36.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.90 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 30.58%. The company’s revenue was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 20.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 14.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 23,446 shares in the company, valued at $3,994,026.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company 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.