Zhang Financial LLC Raises Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Zhang Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 22.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,154 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 1,830 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in 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 raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,304,372 shares during the period. ING Groep NV purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth about $114,107,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 846,756 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $137,945,000 after buying an additional 576,119 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $75,757,000 after buying an additional 501,441 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.7 %

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $152.83 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $49.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.42. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $130.54 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $147.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $159.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.14 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on MPC. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.20.

Insider Activity

In other 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 cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.