Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by Cullinan Associates Inc.

Cullinan Associates Inc. lessened its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,240 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $653,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 5.4% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 138,789 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,966,000 after acquiring an additional 7,092 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 51.7% during the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 21,455 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,323,000 after buying an additional 7,314 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 202.2% in the first quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,126 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,436,000 after buying an additional 4,768 shares during the last quarter. Successful Portfolios LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at $265,000. Finally, Chatham Capital Group Inc. grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. now owns 2,076 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $418,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on MPC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $186.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $227.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.31.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC opened at $174.22 on Wednesday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $112.82 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 $61.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.70, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $178.24 and a 200-day moving average of $176.13.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $32.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.07 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 25.87% and a net margin of 5.32%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.09 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 17.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.48%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 purchase up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.