Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC Has $644,000 Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC cut its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,613 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 90 shares during the quarter. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MPC. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 501,441 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,033,000 after acquiring an additional 9,355 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,466,000 after acquiring an additional 18,764 shares during the last quarter. Holistic Planning LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth about $912,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 4,227.5% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,759 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,364,000 after purchasing an additional 68,147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.20.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE:MPC opened at $151.43 on Monday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $147.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $158.52. The firm has a market cap of $48.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.42. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.