SRN Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

SRN Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 25.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,330 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,455 shares during the period. SRN Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% during the fourth 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. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,033,000 after acquiring an additional 9,355 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,466,000 after acquiring an additional 18,764 shares in the last quarter. Holistic Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $912,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 4,227.5% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,759 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,364,000 after purchasing an additional 68,147 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $146.23 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $147.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.00. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. 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 (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.98 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. 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 restated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.27.

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.