Foster & Motley Inc. Buys 3,137 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Foster & Motley Inc. raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 18.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,991 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,137 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,966,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 811.4% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 319 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the period. Finally, PFS Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $78,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $195.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $70.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $104.32 and a 1-year high of $221.11. The business’s 50 day moving average is $190.08 and its 200-day moving average is $165.60.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $1.77. The business had revenue of $36.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.90 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 30.58% and a net margin of 6.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 19.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total transaction of $170,350.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,994,026.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPC has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Raymond James increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $193.77.

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.