Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Trims Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 37.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 389,712 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 230,816 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $54,365,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 762.9% during the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 302 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MPC. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.21.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $144.05 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $130.54 and a one year high of $221.11. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $151.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a market cap of $44.88 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The company’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.98 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Evan Bayh purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. The trade was a 1.46 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $134.72 per share, with a total value of $269,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,638,464.64. The trade was a 19.68 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently 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.