Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Purchases 5,214 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 67.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,969 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 5,214 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,809,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 762.9% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 302 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Ricky D. Hessling purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 represents a 19.68 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Evan Bayh acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at $9,266,078.50. This 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.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 3.7 %

NYSE:MPC opened at $131.46 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $139.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.85. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $115.10 and a fifty-two week high of $201.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.95 billion, a PE ratio of 13.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.04.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released 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. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.98 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 36.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on MPC shares. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $169.00 to $147.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $161.00 to $141.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.79.

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.