Red Cedar Investment Management LLC Purchases 424 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Red Cedar Investment Management LLC increased its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 29.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,864 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the quarter. Red Cedar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MPC. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $193.62.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 23,446 shares in the company, valued at $3,994,026.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

MPC traded down $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $182.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,868,555 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,394,157. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.43. The company’s 50-day moving average is $194.18 and its 200-day moving average is $168.09. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $104.32 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The firm has a market cap of $64.32 billion, a PE ratio of 9.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.55.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $32.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.07 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 25.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.09 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 19.96 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.48%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to purchase up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.