Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Acquires 9,139 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 18.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,740 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 9,139 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $8,081,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $139,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 24,531 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,422,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 115.3% in the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 3,173 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 1,699 shares during the last quarter. Next Level Private LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Next Level Private LLC now owns 2,470 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 8,244 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,150,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MPC shares. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.20.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 3.1 %

NYSE MPC opened at $145.37 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $46.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.52, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a 50 day moving average of $146.52 and a 200-day moving average of $158.23. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $130.54 and a 1-year high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The company’s revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $8.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.