Cullen Investment Group LTD. Sells 5,975 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. reduced its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,109 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 5,975 shares during the quarter. Marathon Petroleum makes up 1.0% of Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $6,851,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP increased 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 valued at $911,274,000 after acquiring an additional 4,328,470 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,905,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $473,353,000 after purchasing an additional 235,795 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $217,560,000 after buying an additional 415,368 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 6.0% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,285,248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $222,965,000 after acquiring an additional 72,192 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $183.73.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $146.83 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $47.19 billion, a PE ratio of 11.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $147.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $159.74. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.14 earnings per share. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan 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 repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.84%.

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.