Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Sells 53,811 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV decreased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 29.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 126,266 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 53,811 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $17,614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MPC. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 762.9% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 302 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Evan Bayh acquired 1,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. This represents a 1.46 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. This represents a 19.68 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on MPC. Barclays reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $161.00 to $141.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $193.00 to $183.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.21.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 2.8 %

NYSE MPC opened at $141.53 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $44.09 billion, a PE ratio of 14.25, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $115.10 and a 12 month high of $184.77. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $137.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.54.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The company’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.98 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum Company 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.