Sunbelt Securities Inc. Sells 1,079 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. cut its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 5.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,525 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,079 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $3,018,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% during the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 1.3 %

MPC stock opened at $151.06 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $156.76 and its 200 day moving average is $165.70. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $141.45 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The stock has a market cap of $48.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.40. 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 (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $8.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Tudor Pickering lowered shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.27.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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.