Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 37.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,396 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,467 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth $803,000. IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 15.0% in the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,680 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,737,000 after buying an additional 1,397 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.7% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 188,934 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $30,779,000 after buying an additional 3,188 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $500,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 29.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 23,082 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,760,000 after acquiring an additional 5,232 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

MPC stock opened at $121.02 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $37.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.19, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $150.77. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $115.97 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MPC shares. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.29.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Evan Bayh acquired 1,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at $9,266,078.50. The trade was a 1.46 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,638,464.64. This trade represents a 19.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.