Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO

Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO lessened its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,633 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 145 shares during the quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $911,274,000 after purchasing an additional 4,328,470 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $495,595,000 after acquiring an additional 647,045 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $217,560,000 after acquiring an additional 415,368 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $213,605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304,372 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.1% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 977,250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $159,204,000 after purchasing an additional 29,008 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $152.69 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.52. The company has a market capitalization of $49.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $130.54 and a twelve month high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MPC shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.20.

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.