Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA Sells 172 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA reduced its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 9.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,692 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 172 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $236,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,757,000 after acquiring an additional 501,441 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 27.7% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,033,000 after acquiring an additional 9,355 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,466,000 after acquiring an additional 18,764 shares during the last quarter. Holistic Planning LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at approximately $912,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 4,227.5% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,759 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,364,000 after acquiring an additional 68,147 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC stock opened at $154.08 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $145.81 and a 200 day moving average of $157.21. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.41. 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 (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.98 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target 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. Raymond James increased 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. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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.