Counterweight Ventures LLC Has $1.39 Million Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Counterweight Ventures LLC raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,951 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Counterweight Ventures LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 20.6% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 19,888 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,240,000 after purchasing an additional 3,399 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,426 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,113,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 4,348 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $708,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. CCM Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% during the third quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 83,965 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $13,679,000 after buying an additional 1,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 9.1% in the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,107 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,484,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $150.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a 50-day moving average of $145.91 and a 200-day moving average of $157.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $130.54 and a 1 year high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The business’s revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.98 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 36.66%.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.27.

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.