Horizon Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Horizon Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,842 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the quarter. Horizon Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 4,328,470 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,803,951 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $670,151,000 after purchasing an additional 315,786 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $495,595,000 after purchasing an additional 647,045 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $217,560,000 after purchasing an additional 415,368 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 977,250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $159,204,000 after buying an additional 29,008 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on MPC. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $152.70 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $147.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.24. The company has a market cap of $49.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $130.54 and a 1-year high of $221.11. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.98 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.