Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by Strategic Blueprint LLC

Strategic Blueprint LLC lowered its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,907 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 74 shares during the quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $824,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $33,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Two 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.20.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 1.0 %

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $149.87 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $130.54 and a one year high of $221.11. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $146.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.29. The company has a market capitalization of $48.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.88, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.42. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The firm’s revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $8.14 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value 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 trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.