HBW Advisory Services LLC Buys 128 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

HBW Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,167 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 128 shares during the quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $911,274,000 after purchasing an additional 4,328,470 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,905,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $473,353,000 after acquiring an additional 235,795 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $217,560,000 after acquiring an additional 415,368 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $213,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 6.0% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,285,248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $222,965,000 after purchasing an additional 72,192 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America began coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $183.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $142.55 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.42. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $130.54 and a 1-year high of $221.11. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $147.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $160.13.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.14 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a $0.91 dividend. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.