KCM Investment Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

KCM Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,339 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 430 shares during the quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 762.9% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 302 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho lowered their price objective 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. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.29.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC stock opened at $121.02 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $147.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.68. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $115.97 and a one year high of $219.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.98 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Ricky D. Hessling bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $134.72 per share, with a total value of $269,440.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. The trade was a 19.68 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Evan Bayh bought 1,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. This represents a 1.46 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.