Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Sells 53,811 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lowered its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 29.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 126,266 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 53,811 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $17,614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 2,068 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,271 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 395 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,171 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ricky D. Hessling bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $134.72 per share, with a total value of $269,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. This trade represents a 19.68 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Evan Bayh purchased 1,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. The trade was a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MPC. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $169.00 to $147.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $193.00 to $183.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.21.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $141.53 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $44.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.25, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $115.10 and a 1 year high of $184.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $137.08 and its 200 day moving average is $145.54.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.98 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

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.