Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Stake Raised by First Horizon Advisors Inc.

First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $174,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,526,814 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $685,088,000 after acquiring an additional 43,989 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 4,102,057 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $608,581,000 after acquiring an additional 96,753 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,746,614 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $415,673,000 after buying an additional 36,987 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,341,364 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $347,365,000 after acquiring an additional 178,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 5.4% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,624,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $245,917,000 after purchasing an additional 82,576 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total value of $170,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,994,026.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

MPC opened at $182.78 on Tuesday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $104.32 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $194.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $168.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $32.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.07 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 25.87%. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.09 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 19.96 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MPC has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $221.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $202.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.62.

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.