Brookstone Capital Management Raises Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 67.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 62,385 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,171 shares during the quarter. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $8,703,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $911,274,000 after purchasing an additional 4,328,470 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $213,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304,372 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth $114,107,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 846,756 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $137,945,000 after buying an additional 576,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $217,560,000 after buying an additional 415,368 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MPC. Bank of America began coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $183.73.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 3.2 %

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $146.83 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $47.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.42. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $147.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $159.74. 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 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 analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $8.14 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given 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 yield of 2.48%. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.