Merit Financial Group LLC Trims Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Merit Financial Group LLC lessened its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,500 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 97 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MPC. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Five equities research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.62.

Insider Activity

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

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of MPC opened at $182.78 on Tuesday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $104.32 and a 52-week high of $221.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $194.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.51. The stock has a market cap of $64.40 billion, a PE ratio of 9.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.55.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $32.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.07 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 25.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.09 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 19.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 16.48%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to purchase up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are 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.