Romano Brothers AND Company Sells 710 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Romano Brothers AND Company cut its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,418 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 710 shares during the period. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,453,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $911,274,000 after purchasing an additional 4,328,470 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,905,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $473,353,000 after buying an additional 235,795 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $217,560,000 after buying an additional 415,368 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $213,605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304,372 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 17.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,197,401 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $207,186,000 after acquiring an additional 180,213 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $152.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $130.54 and a 52-week high of $221.11. The company has a market capitalization of $49.12 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $147.76 and a 200-day moving average of $159.31.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $8.14 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned 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, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.20.

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.