Legacy Capital Group California Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Legacy Capital Group California Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,796 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 77 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $676,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 105.8% in the 1st quarter. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 247 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Graham Capital Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter worth about $408,535,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at about $47,000. 74.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MPC. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $148.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $171.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 1st. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $162.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 18th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $157.92.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock traded up $2.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $147.90. The stock had a trading volume of 3,453,121 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,940,714. The firm has a market cap of $56.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $149.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $132.76. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $104.32 and a 12-month high of $159.65.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 31st. The oil and gas company reported $8.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.79 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $41.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.67 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 34.66% and a net margin of 7.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $7.81 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 22.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.32%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, October 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 1,436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.81, for a total transaction of $210,819.16. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at $804,518.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Marathon Petroleum news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 1,436 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.81, for a total value of $210,819.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $804,518.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.43, for a total transaction of $914,580.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 24,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,673,258.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

Marathon Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated downstream energy company primarily in the United States. It operates in two segments, Refining & Marketing, and Midstream. 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.