Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Sells 502 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. cut its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 20.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,925 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 502 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MPC shares. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $221.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.62.

Insider Activity

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 23,446 shares in the company, valued at $3,994,026.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $182.78 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $194.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.51. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $104.32 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.43. The company has a market cap of $64.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.55.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.25. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 25.87% and a net margin of 5.32%. The company had revenue of $32.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.09 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 19.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.48%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to purchase up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management 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.