Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Has $548,000 Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC cut its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,931 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 161 shares during the quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MPC. Woodstock Corp raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 4,905 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $684,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 1,918 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 37.4% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 6,213 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $867,000 after acquiring an additional 1,691 shares in the last quarter. Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $794,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $75,757,000 after purchasing an additional 501,441 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.7 %

MPC opened at $152.83 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.12 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released 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 net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $8.14 earnings per share. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MPC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.20.

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.