Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV Trims Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV reduced its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 25.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,500 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 510 shares during the period. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MPC. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 35.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 158,392 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,804,000 after buying an additional 41,131 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 7.0% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 15,361 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,502,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.3% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 48,221 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,856,000 after acquiring an additional 1,080 shares during the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 314.2% during the third quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 7,107 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,158,000 after acquiring an additional 5,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFG Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 1,449 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This 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. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE MPC opened at $158.30 on Friday. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $146.56 and its 200 day moving average is $156.64. The company has a market capitalization of $50.87 billion, a PE ratio of 15.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.41. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $130.54 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11.

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

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program 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 reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

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.