Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. Takes Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,200 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Guys Formula LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at about $212,000. Oak Harvest Investment Services lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 1,628 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Amarillo National Bank acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth approximately $210,000. Accel Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth approximately $262,000. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 16,763 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,378,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC stock traded up $0.85 during trading on Thursday, hitting $174.99. The company had a trading volume of 1,344,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,601,003. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $177.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $61.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.40. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.82 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $32.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.07 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 25.87% and a net margin of 5.32%. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.09 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 17.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th were paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 16.48%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Raymond James reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $201.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.31.

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.