GDS Wealth Management Takes Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

GDS Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,387 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 121.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 161,214 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $23,742,000 after buying an additional 88,493 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 2.3% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 15,178 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,268,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 16.3% in the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 25,752 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,897,000 after buying an additional 3,607 shares during the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth about $245,000. Finally, Graypoint LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.6% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,022 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total value of $170,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,994,026.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MPC shares. StockNews.com downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Citigroup began coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $221.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.62.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 1.6 %

MPC traded down $2.98 during trading on Friday, hitting $179.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 301,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,708,767. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.14, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.55. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $104.32 and a twelve month 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $194.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $168.81.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $32.71 billion during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.09 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 19.96 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan 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 purchase up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders 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 dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.48%.

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.