TCW Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

TCW Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 10,499 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,549,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 215 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC traded up $1.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $177.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,805,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,557,228. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $62.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.88, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.55. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $104.32 and a 1-year high of $221.11. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $194.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $171.12.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.25. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 25.87% and a net margin of 5.32%. The business had revenue of $32.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.09 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 19.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to purchase up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on MPC. StockNews.com cut Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $204.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.77.

Insider Activity

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 23,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,994,026.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.