Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Stock Position Decreased by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,100 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter valued at $1,023,000. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,035 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $874,000 after acquiring an additional 733 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 20,549 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,565,000 after acquiring an additional 2,039 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.7% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 7,110 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 184.9% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,206 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,720,000 after purchasing an additional 17,657 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. 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 research note on Wednesday, October 9th. 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 note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $152.83 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $49.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $147.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.31. 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 twelve month low of $130.54 and a twelve month high of $221.11.

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

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan 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 repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.