Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc.

Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 48.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 495 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 472 shares during the quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $69,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $698,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. American Trust increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 5.3% during the third quarter. American Trust now owns 1,397 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Financial Partners Group LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 3.3% in the third quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 2,220 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,171 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MPC. Raymond James raised their price objective 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 restated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned 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 $181.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the company’s 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $153.84 on Tuesday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $130.54 and a one year high of $221.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $157.51. 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 (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The firm’s revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.98 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.7 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.