Harbor Investment Advisory LLC Sells 228 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Harbor Investment Advisory LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,677 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 228 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Zhang Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 10,154 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,416,000 after buying an additional 1,830 shares during the period. City Holding Co. lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 13,142 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,833,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 2,691 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,907 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,872 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 15,036 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,098,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $150.82 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $48.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.95, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.42. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $130.54 and a twelve month high of $221.11. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $147.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $158.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The company’s revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $8.14 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a $0.91 dividend. This is a boost 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 2.41%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.84%.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.20.

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.