Simmons Bank Boosts Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Simmons Bank lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,494 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MPC. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at $109,099,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 127.0% in the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,232,706 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $186,536,000 after buying an additional 689,576 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 256.3% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 884,573 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $131,235,000 after buying an additional 636,281 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 248.1% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 608,888 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $90,335,000 after buying an additional 433,977 shares during the period. Finally, Korea Investment CORP raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 61.9% in the third quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 662,266 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $100,227,000 after acquiring an additional 253,321 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total transaction of $170,350.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,994,026.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $181.03. 954,172 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,742,475. The firm has a market cap of $63.78 billion, a PE ratio of 9.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.43. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $194.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.73. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $104.32 and a twelve month high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.09 EPS. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 19.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 16.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MPC shares. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Scotiabank raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $221.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.