Foster & Motley Inc. Purchases 463 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Foster & Motley Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 24,531 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 463 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $3,422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% in 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 during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in 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 bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at about $114,107,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $495,595,000 after acquiring an additional 647,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% in 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. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.5 %

MPC opened at $151.45 on Thursday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $130.54 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $146.87 and its 200 day moving average is $158.34.

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

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.84%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MPC. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. 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. Barclays reduced 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.