Ingalls & Snyder LLC Reduces Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Ingalls & Snyder LLC reduced its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,674 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 251 shares during the quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,187,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MPC. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% during the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on MPC. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America started coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 3.3 %

NYSE MPC opened at $154.08 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $145.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $157.21. 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 company has a market cap of $49.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.41. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $130.54 and a one year 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.98 earnings per share. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan 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 purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.