Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Sells 361 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Aug 19th, 2023

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lessened its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC – Free Report) by 16.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,807 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 361 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sit Investment Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. James Investment Research Inc. grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 65.2% during the first quarter. James Investment Research Inc. now owns 228 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Lansing Street Advisors purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 44.1% in the first quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 304 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Mizuho cut shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $148.00 to $161.00 in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $140.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $133.00 to $143.00 in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.93.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on MPC

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, VP Timothy J. Aydt sold 4,913 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.26, for a total transaction of $713,662.38. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,759,213.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP Timothy J. Aydt sold 4,913 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.26, for a total transaction of $713,662.38. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,995 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,759,213.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Shawn M. Lyon sold 8,086 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.15, for a total transaction of $1,189,854.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,212,547.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,905 shares of company stock worth $4,513,612 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of MPC opened at $144.67 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $125.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.72. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $89.40 and a 1 year high of $149.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.63.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The oil and gas company reported $5.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.55 by $0.77. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 36.33%. The company had revenue of $36.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $10.61 earnings per share. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was down 32.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 21.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 10.89%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

About Marathon Petroleum

(Free Report)

Marathon Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated downstream energy company primarily in the United States. It operates in two segments, Refining & Marketing, and Midstream. 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.