AJOVista LLC Acquires Shares of 676 Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

AJOVista LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 676 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total value 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC stock traded down $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $182.55. 1,868,555 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,394,157. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $104.32 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The company has a market cap of $64.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $194.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $168.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

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

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 16.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MPC. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Bank of America increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $202.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.62.

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.