National Bank of Canada FI Decreases Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

National Bank of Canada FI lessened its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 106,927 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 5,808 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $16,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aspire Private Capital LLC raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 3,456 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $523,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $174,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 10,899 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,617,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 9.1% in the third quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 579,841 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $87,753,000 after purchasing an additional 48,540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intrust Bank NA increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 5,786 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $858,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MPC shares. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Mizuho lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $202.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,994,026.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE MPC opened at $180.92 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $104.32 and a 12 month high of $221.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $194.58 and its 200 day moving average is $168.73. The stock has a market cap of $63.74 billion, a PE ratio of 9.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.55.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 EPS 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 the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.09 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 19.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 16.48%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to purchase up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.