Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 115,913 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 643,520 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 115,913 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $104,572,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 431 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Legacy Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC now owns 1,714 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. SouthState Corp raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 4,122 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $715,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,165 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This represents 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 at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE MPC opened at $145.56 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $46.78 billion, a PE ratio of 11.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.39. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $142.84 and a one year high of $221.11. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $164.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $8.14 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on MPC. 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 report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America began coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays dropped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Tudor Pickering cut Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.27.

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.