Flputnam Investment Management Co. Trims Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. reduced its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 37.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,441 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 5,607 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,317,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on MPC. Raymond James increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. 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. Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.27.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE MPC opened at $150.07 on Monday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $148.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.46. The firm has a market cap of $48.23 billion, a PE ratio of 15.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.98 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

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

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.