CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Reduces Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT decreased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 24.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,662 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 22,999 shares during the quarter. Marathon Petroleum makes up approximately 0.7% of CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $9,997,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $911,274,000 after buying an additional 4,328,470 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $213,605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304,372 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $114,107,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 846,756 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $137,945,000 after purchasing an additional 576,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,757,000 after purchasing an additional 501,441 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on MPC shares. Barclays cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.20.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:MPC opened at $151.43 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $130.54 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $158.69. The stock has a market cap of $48.67 billion, a PE ratio of 12.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.42.

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

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.