Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Stake Increased by Red Cedar Investment Management LLC

Red Cedar Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 29.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,864 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the period. Red Cedar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total transaction of $170,350.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,446 shares in the company, valued at $3,994,026.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC traded down $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $182.55. 1,868,555 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,394,157. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $194.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.09. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $104.32 and a one year high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $32.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.07 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 25.87%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.09 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 19.96 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 buy up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Raymond James lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Citigroup initiated coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $193.62.

Marathon Petroleum 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.