Diversified Trust Co Sells 6,533 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Diversified Trust Co cut its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 50.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,545 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 6,533 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $911,274,000 after acquiring an additional 4,328,470 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,905,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $473,353,000 after purchasing an additional 235,795 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $217,560,000 after purchasing an additional 415,368 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $213,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,285,248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $222,965,000 after purchasing an additional 72,192 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MPC shares. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $184.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $142.36 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $130.54 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $147.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $160.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.42.

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

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 28.84%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.