Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Acquires 109 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,642 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 215 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

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 shares were sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total transaction of $170,350.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,446 shares in the company, valued at $3,994,026.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

MPC traded up $1.24 on Friday, reaching $177.80. The stock had a trading volume of 1,792,533 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,557,228. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $104.32 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $194.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.94. The company has a market cap of $62.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.55.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $32.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.07 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 25.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.09 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 19.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas company to buy up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MPC shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target 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. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $204.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Barclays reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $221.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.77.

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.