Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Boosts Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 145,849 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 676 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $20,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MPC. Paragon Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.6% in the second quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,196 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,769,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $698,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. American Trust boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 5.3% during the third quarter. American Trust now owns 1,397 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Financial Partners Group LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.3% in the third quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 2,220 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.6% in the third quarter. Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC now owns 12,775 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,081,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on MPC. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Two 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.20.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $151.43 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $130.54 and a 1-year high of $221.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $147.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $158.58.

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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.14 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.84%.

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

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.