Versant Capital Management Inc Has $103,000 Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 29.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 739 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MPC. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% during the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MPC shares. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Tudor Pickering downgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $184.00.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.9 %

MPC stock opened at $142.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.42. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $130.54 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $148.25 and a 200-day moving average of $161.21.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $8.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 28.84%.

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.