Kovack Advisors Inc. Grows Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,129 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $761,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,526,814 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $685,088,000 after buying an additional 43,989 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 4,102,057 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $608,581,000 after buying an additional 96,753 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,746,614 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $415,673,000 after buying an additional 36,987 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,341,364 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $347,365,000 after buying an additional 178,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 2,179,623 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $329,864,000 after buying an additional 11,622 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total transaction of $170,350.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,994,026.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $198.39 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $192.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $104.32 and a 52-week high of $221.11. The company has a market cap of $71.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.43, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.52.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $1.77. The firm had revenue of $36.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.90 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 30.58%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 20.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.02%.

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.