J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Lowers Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 29.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,972 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,221 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,526,814 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $685,088,000 after buying an additional 43,989 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 4,102,057 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $608,581,000 after purchasing an additional 96,753 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,746,614 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $415,673,000 after purchasing an additional 36,987 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,341,364 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $347,365,000 after purchasing an additional 178,502 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 2,179,623 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $329,864,000 after purchasing an additional 11,622 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $199.72 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $190.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.99. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $104.32 and a 52-week high of $221.11. The firm has a market cap of $71.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.49, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $1.77. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 30.58% and a net margin of 6.44%. The company had revenue of $36.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.65 EPS. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 19.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 14.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Raymond James boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total transaction of $170,350.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,994,026.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.