Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by abrdn plc

abrdn plc lessened its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 76,879 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 5,115 shares during the period. abrdn plc’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $10,649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $911,274,000 after buying an additional 4,328,470 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $495,595,000 after buying an additional 647,045 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $217,560,000 after buying an additional 415,368 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $213,605,000 after buying an additional 1,304,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 3.1% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 977,250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $159,204,000 after buying an additional 29,008 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on MPC shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

MPC stock opened at $150.13 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 $48.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.41. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $130.54 and a 12 month high of $221.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $146.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $157.74.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum 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.