TCW Group Inc. Sells 20,138 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

TCW Group Inc. cut its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 45.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 24,322 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 20,138 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $3,393,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $911,274,000 after buying an additional 4,328,470 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $495,595,000 after acquiring an additional 647,045 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $217,560,000 after acquiring an additional 415,368 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 3.1% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 977,250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $159,204,000 after acquiring an additional 29,008 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 918,361 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $128,111,000 after purchasing an additional 16,825 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MPC shares. Barclays dropped their target price 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. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $153.81 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $49.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $130.54 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $146.72 and its 200 day moving average is $156.40.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.98 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 36.66%.

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.