GTS Securities LLC Sells 8,668 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

GTS Securities LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 49.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,863 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 8,668 shares during the quarter. GTS Securities LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 762.9% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 302 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $169.00 to $147.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $193.00 to $183.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.29.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Evan Bayh acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 69,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. The trade was a 1.46% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at $1,638,464.64. This represents a 19.68% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE MPC opened at $159.18 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $115.10 and a 1 year high of $183.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.90 billion, a PE ratio of 16.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $141.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $145.99.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by $0.16. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The business had revenue of $31.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.20%.

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.