Douglas Lane & Associates LLC Sells 2,288 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC cut its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 120,189 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,288 shares during the period. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $16,766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MPC. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 43.2% in the fourth quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 3,315 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Bank of New Hampshire raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 27.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 689 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 29.6% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 739 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at about $5,226,000. Finally, American Trust grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 5.3% in the third quarter. American Trust now owns 1,397 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE MPC opened at $142.36 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $147.92 and a 200-day moving average of $160.47. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $130.54 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23.

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

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on MPC shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $184.00.

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.