Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. Sells 30,500 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. reduced its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 21.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 108,812 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 30,500 shares during the quarter. Marathon Petroleum makes up about 2.4% of Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $15,179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth $33,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $149.62 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.32. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $130.54 and a 12 month high of $221.11.

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

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 36.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MPC. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Mizuho decreased 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. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.27.

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.