Wedbush Securities Inc. Acquires 808 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 13.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,718 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $937,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 78.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,961,503 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,389,630,000 after purchasing an additional 4,367,774 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at about $453,427,000. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 37.4% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,436,704 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $480,501,000 after buying an additional 935,042 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% in 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 during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Evan Bayh acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. The trade was a 1.46 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,638,464.64. The trade was a 19.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC stock opened at $121.02 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market cap of $37.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $147.41 and its 200 day moving average is $150.58. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $112.74 and a 52 week high of $219.74.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.98 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MPC. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Mizuho decreased 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 report on Monday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.29.

Marathon Petroleum Company 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.