Sanctuary Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 147,779 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 2,657 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $22,161,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position 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 valued at $75,757,000 after acquiring an additional 501,441 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,033,000 after purchasing an additional 9,355 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,466,000 after purchasing an additional 18,764 shares during the last quarter. Holistic Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth about $912,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4,227.5% in 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 buying an additional 68,147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of MPC opened at $156.11 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $146.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.79. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $130.54 and a one year high of $221.11. The company has a market capitalization of $50.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 36.66%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on MPC shares. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.