D.A. Davidson & CO. Boosts Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,800 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 2,740 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $3,878,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $698,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. American Trust increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Trust now owns 1,397 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 395 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Partners Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 2,220 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $158.30 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $146.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $130.54 and a one year high of $221.11. The company has a market cap of $50.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.94, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.41.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.98 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase 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 purchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Raymond James raised their price target 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 decreased their price target 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. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.27.

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.