SG Americas Securities LLC Has $1.81 Million Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

SG Americas Securities LLC lessened its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 17.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,941 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,691 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% in the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on MPC. Raymond James raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. 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 note on Friday, January 10th. Scotiabank decreased 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 report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays lowered 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 note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.20.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $151.43 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.55. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $130.54 and a 12 month high of $221.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.67 billion, a PE ratio of 12.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.42.

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

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

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

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program 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 buy up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.