Truist Financial Corp Decreases Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Truist Financial Corp cut its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 21.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,961 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 25,310 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $13,643,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MPC. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $44,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the firm’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 value of $170,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of MPC stock opened at $178.97 on Thursday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $104.32 and a 1-year high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $193.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.49 billion, a PE ratio of 7.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.52.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $32.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.07 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 30.58%. The business’s revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.09 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 20.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 14.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.77.

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.