HighTower Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 222,310 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,403 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $31,012,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at $70,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 19,754 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,756,000 after purchasing an additional 1,124 shares in the last quarter. Davis R M Inc. increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 2,124 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 9,252 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,291,000 after buying an additional 2,075 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 43,098 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,012,000 after buying an additional 822 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $141.23 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $44.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $148.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $153.17. 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.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.98 earnings per share. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 36.66%.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Ricky D. Hessling purchased 2,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $134.72 per share, with a total value of $269,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,638,464.64. This trade represents a 19.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Evan Bayh acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. This trade represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MPC. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.13.

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.