Sowell Financial Services LLC Decreases Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Sowell Financial Services LLC trimmed its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,175 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 472 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,955,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MPC. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 121,130.8% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,942,426 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $458,859,000 after buying an additional 3,939,174 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $453,190,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22,119.1% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,227,468 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $190,449,000 after buying an additional 2,217,443 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 246.4% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,216,688 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $141,866,000 after buying an additional 865,418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $109,099,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total value of $170,350.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,994,026.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Bank of America raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.58.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 1.3 %

MPC opened at $219.13 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $78.96 billion, a PE ratio of 9.31, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.52. The business has a 50 day moving average of $181.70 and a 200-day moving average of $161.23. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $104.32 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $1.77. The firm had revenue of $36.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.90 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 30.58%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.65 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 16.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.02%.

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.