Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Sells 3,956 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 27.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,219 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 3,956 shares during the quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $698,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. American Trust raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. American Trust now owns 1,397 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 2,220 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,171 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. 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 research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.27.

Insider Activity

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $149.26 on Thursday. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.41. The company’s 50-day moving average is $145.84 and its 200 day moving average is $157.27.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.7 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan 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 repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.