205 Shares in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Acquired by Vima LLC

Vima LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 205 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $161,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 847 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Counterweight Ventures LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $981,000. Finally, Syon Capital LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 16,586 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,461,000 after purchasing an additional 3,310 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE MPC traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $170.07. 2,933,965 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,418,018. The business’s 50 day moving average is $185.37 and its 200-day moving average is $173.88. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $108.88 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The company has a market capitalization of $59.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.43.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $32.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.07 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 25.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.09 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 19.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.48%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to purchase up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $221.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $227.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.23.

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.