Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC Takes Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,692 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $794,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MPC. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.0% in the second quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 6,269 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,088,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 378.9% during the second quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 3,338 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $579,000 after purchasing an additional 2,641 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 6.2% during the second quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 18,386 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 271.7% during the second quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 15,686 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,721,000 after purchasing an additional 11,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Madison Wealth Partners Inc raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 30.4% during the second quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 1,384 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of MPC stock opened at $149.54 on Wednesday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $130.54 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The stock has a market cap of $48.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $159.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.84%.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Mizuho cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $183.73.

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.