Veracity Capital LLC Sells 692 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Veracity Capital LLC cut its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 14.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,074 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 692 shares during the period. Veracity Capital LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $33,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MPC shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Raymond James upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $154.37 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $49.61 billion, a PE ratio of 12.23, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $147.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.72. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $130.54 and a twelve month high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $8.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a $0.91 dividend. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.