Woodstock Corp Increases Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Woodstock Corp increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,905 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the quarter. Woodstock Corp’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $183.73.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:MPC opened at $151.74 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $130.54 and a 52-week high of $221.11. The business’s fifty day moving average is $147.82 and its 200 day moving average is $159.52. 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 firm has a market cap of $48.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.42.

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

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 28.84%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Company 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.