Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Sells 502 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 20.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,925 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 502 shares during the quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aspire Private Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4.4% in the third quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 3,456 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $523,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 10,899 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,617,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 579,841 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $87,753,000 after acquiring an additional 48,540 shares during the period. Intrust Bank NA raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 5,786 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $858,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 149.9% during the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,133 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 3,079 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 23,446 shares in the company, valued at $3,994,026.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $182.78 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.40 billion, a PE ratio of 9.13, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $194.38 and a 200-day moving average of $168.51. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $104.32 and a 12 month high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.25. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 25.87% and a net margin of 5.32%. The firm had revenue of $32.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.09 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 19.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $202.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.62.

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.