Howard Capital Management Inc. Purchases 118 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,300 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $3,250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $153.81 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $49.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $146.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $130.54 and a 52-week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.98 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

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