LGT Group Foundation Reduces Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

LGT Group Foundation trimmed its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 101,648 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,485 shares during the quarter. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $14,930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total value of $170,350.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,446 shares in the company, valued at $3,994,026.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE:MPC traded up $3.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $182.03. The company had a trading volume of 884,191 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,774,005. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $104.32 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.94, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.55.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.25. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.32%. The business had revenue of $32.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.09 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 20.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on MPC. Citigroup started coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $202.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.62.

Marathon Petroleum 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.