Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by Hosking Partners LLP

Hosking Partners LLP decreased its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 228,511 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 654 shares during the quarter. Marathon Petroleum makes up 1.2% of Hosking Partners LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Hosking Partners LLP owned about 0.07% of Marathon Petroleum worth $31,877,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 31,822 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,439,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $32,690,000. Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 3,400 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $474,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the period. Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $600,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares during the period. Finally, Convergence Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Convergence Financial LLC now owns 5,943 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $829,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $148.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $147.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.94. The company has a market cap of $47.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $130.54 and a one year high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.98 EPS. The company’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 EPS for the current year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MPC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen restated 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 upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Barclays cut their price target 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. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.