Lincoln National Corp Sells 2,594 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Lincoln National Corp lessened its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 23.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,261 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,594 shares during the period. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,226,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $170,350.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,994,026.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $202.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Scotiabank increased their price target 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. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.62.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE:MPC opened at $180.93 on Thursday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $104.32 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.55. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $194.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.73.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 25.87% and a net margin of 5.32%. The firm’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.09 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 19.96 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 16.48%.

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.