Lincoln National Corp Sells 2,594 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Lincoln National Corp cut its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 23.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,261 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,594 shares during the quarter. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Graypoint LLC raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Gratus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth about $670,000. Simmons Bank grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.0% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Whittier Trust Co. grew its position in shares of 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 worth $1,269,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.9% in 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 buying an additional 320 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE MPC opened at $180.93 on Thursday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $104.32 and a 12 month high of $221.11. The stock has a market cap of $63.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.04, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.55. The company’s 50 day moving average is $194.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.73. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.25. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 25.87%. The company had revenue of $32.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.09 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 19.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

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

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $221.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.62.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 23,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,994,026.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.