Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Sells 484 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management cut its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 13.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,023 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 484 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $449,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MPC. Graypoint LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,022 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Gratus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter worth about $670,000. Simmons Bank grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.0% during the third quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 5,289 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $800,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 8,388 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,269,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 17,145 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,595,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $202.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Petroleum 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 transaction of $170,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,446 shares in the company, valued at $3,994,026.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $180.93 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $194.58 and its 200-day moving average is $168.73. The company has a market capitalization of $63.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.04, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.55. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $104.32 and a 12 month high of $221.11. 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 (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.25. The firm 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.09 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 19.96 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.48%.

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