Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Bought by West Michigan Advisors LLC

West Michigan Advisors LLC raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 18,676 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 4,328,470 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,803,951 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $670,151,000 after purchasing an additional 315,786 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $495,595,000 after purchasing an additional 647,045 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $217,560,000 after purchasing an additional 415,368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.1% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 977,250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $159,204,000 after purchasing an additional 29,008 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $150.07 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $148.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.76. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.98 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on MPC shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.27.

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.