Metis Global Partners LLC Sells 3,025 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Metis Global Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 15.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,194 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 3,025 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,551,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MPC. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,526,814 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $685,088,000 after acquiring an additional 43,989 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 4,102,057 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $608,581,000 after purchasing an additional 96,753 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,746,614 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $415,673,000 after buying an additional 36,987 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,341,364 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $347,365,000 after buying an additional 178,502 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,624,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $245,917,000 after buying an additional 82,576 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $183.80 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.55. 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.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $32.71 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.09 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 19.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 16.48%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup started coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $221.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.62.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.