Gateway Advisory LLC Has $567,000 Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Gateway Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 92.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,866 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 2,340 shares during the quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $567,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 105.8% during the first quarter. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 247 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors own 74.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.43, for a total value of $914,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 24,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,673,258.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.43, for a total value of $914,580.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,673,258.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 1,436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.81, for a total value of $210,819.16. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $804,518.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $171.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 1st. Mizuho cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $178.00 to $166.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 6th. StockNews.com began coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Bank of America upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $162.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $157.00 to $153.00 in a report on Monday, October 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $157.92.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC stock traded up $2.80 during trading on Friday, hitting $147.90. 3,453,121 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,940,714. The stock has a market cap of $56.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.57. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $104.32 and a one year high of $159.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $149.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $132.87.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 31st. The oil and gas company reported $8.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.79 by $0.35. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 7.52% and a return on equity of 34.66%. The company had revenue of $41.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.81 earnings per share. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 22.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 25th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to purchase up to 8.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually 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 will be paid on Monday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 16th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 12.32%.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

Marathon Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated downstream energy company primarily in the United States. It operates in two segments, Refining & Marketing, and Midstream. 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.