Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by KRS Capital Management LLC

KRS Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,709 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 137 shares during the quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 0.9% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,165 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 0.6% in the second quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,196 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,769,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% in the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. American Trust increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 5.3% in the third quarter. American Trust now owns 1,397 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Partners Group LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 3.3% in the third quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 2,220 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of MPC traded up $1.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $152.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,479,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,802,449. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $130.54 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The business has a fifty day moving average of $147.78 and a 200 day moving average of $159.47. The company has a market cap of $49.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.42.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $8.14 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.20.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.