Pavion Blue Capital LLC Sells 80 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Pavion Blue Capital LLC reduced its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,722 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 80 shares during the quarter. Pavion Blue Capital LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $240,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 4,328,470 shares during the period. ING Groep NV purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $114,107,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $495,595,000 after buying an additional 647,045 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 846,756 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $137,945,000 after buying an additional 576,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $75,757,000 after buying an additional 501,441 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 2.8 %

NYSE:MPC opened at $153.81 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $146.72 and a 200 day moving average of $156.49. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on MPC shares. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.