Private Advisor Group LLC Sells 8,245 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Private Advisor Group LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 17.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 39,976 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 8,245 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $5,577,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $911,274,000 after purchasing an additional 4,328,470 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in 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 during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in 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 during the period. National Pension Service grew its holdings in 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 during the period. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 918,361 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $128,111,000 after acquiring an additional 16,825 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of MPC opened at $153.81 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.49. The company 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. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $130.54 and a one year high of $221.11. 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 (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion for 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 company’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous 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 repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid 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 2.37%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value 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. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of 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 upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho cut 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. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.27.

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.