Allstate Corp Sells 157 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Allstate Corp lessened its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,831 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 157 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $272,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 215 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPC traded up $0.76 during trading on Friday, hitting $177.32. The stock had a trading volume of 343,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,700,924. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $104.32 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $194.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.75.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.25. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 25.87% and a net margin of 5.32%. The firm had revenue of $32.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 19.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors 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 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.48%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to purchase up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MPC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Raymond James raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total value of $170,350.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,994,026.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.