Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Purchased by Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.

Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 18.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,947 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $289,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MPC shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $202.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective 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. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.62.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.1 %

Marathon Petroleum stock traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $182.78. The stock had a trading volume of 1,884,368 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,775,468. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $194.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.51. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $104.32 and a twelve month high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $64.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.13, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.55.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.25. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 25.87%. The firm had revenue of $32.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.09 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 19.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

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

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to buy up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,994,026.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.