Wallace Advisory Group LLC Acquires 490 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Wallace Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 28.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,206 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. Wallace Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,033,000 after acquiring an additional 9,355 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,466,000 after purchasing an additional 18,764 shares in the last quarter. Holistic Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth $912,000. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4,227.5% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,759 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,364,000 after purchasing an additional 68,147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 353.4% in the 2nd quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 55,989 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $9,713,000 after buying an additional 43,639 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on MPC shares. Barclays reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target 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. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $183.73.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $146.83 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $47.19 billion, a PE ratio of 11.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $147.88 and a 200-day moving average of $159.74. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $130.54 and a one year high of $221.11. 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 (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $8.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.84%.

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.