Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Acquired by Spire Wealth Management

Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 103.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,455 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 1,249 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MPC. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% during the 3rd 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 increased its position 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 during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $33,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $151.74 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $130.54 and a 1-year high of $221.11. The company has a market capitalization of $48.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.02, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $146.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $157.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

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

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.