Advisory Services Network LLC Sells 880 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Advisory Services Network LLC cut its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,647 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 880 shares during the quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $7,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $500,685,000. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at about $109,099,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 127.0% during the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,232,706 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $186,536,000 after acquiring an additional 689,576 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 256.3% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 884,573 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $131,235,000 after acquiring an additional 636,281 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 248.1% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 608,888 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $90,335,000 after acquiring an additional 433,977 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:MPC traded up $1.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $177.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,805,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,557,228. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $104.32 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $62.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.88, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.55. The business’s fifty day moving average is $194.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.25. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 25.87%. The firm had revenue of $32.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.09 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 19.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.48%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on MPC shares. Mizuho upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $204.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Bank of America upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Raymond James upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.77.

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.