1620 Investment Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

1620 Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,666 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $790,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,803,951 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $670,151,000 after purchasing an additional 315,786 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $495,595,000 after purchasing an additional 647,045 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 37.4% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,436,704 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $480,501,000 after purchasing an additional 935,042 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,807,566 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $398,388,000 after purchasing an additional 428,708 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.13.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC stock opened at $151.93 on Friday. 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 Co. has a one year low of $130.54 and a one year high of $221.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.33 billion, a PE ratio of 15.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $148.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $152.51.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm’s revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.98 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Evan Bayh purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. This trade represents a 1.46 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. The trade was a 19.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.