Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC Lowers Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC trimmed its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 44.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,243 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,827 shares during the period. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $312,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $213,605,000 after buying an additional 1,304,372 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth $114,107,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 846,756 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $137,945,000 after acquiring an additional 576,119 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,757,000 after acquiring an additional 501,441 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.7 %

MPC opened at $152.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $49.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.42. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The business’s 50 day moving average is $147.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.14 EPS. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has approved 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 reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 28.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on MPC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.20.

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.