Wedmont Private Capital Trims Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Wedmont Private Capital cut its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,086 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 340 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $911,274,000 after purchasing an additional 4,328,470 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $213,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304,372 shares during the period. ING Groep NV acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth about $114,107,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 846,756 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $137,945,000 after purchasing an additional 576,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $217,560,000 after purchasing an additional 415,368 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MPC. Citigroup decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $183.73.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of MPC stock opened at $149.54 on Wednesday. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $159.57. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $130.54 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The stock has a market cap of $48.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.42.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The company 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%. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.14 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

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.