Cullen Investment Group LTD. Cuts Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. decreased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 57.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,850 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 28,259 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD.'s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $3,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 762.9% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 302 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MPC. Barclays increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $141.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Scotiabank cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $169.00 to $147.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $175.29.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC traded up $0.70 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $160.62. 4,475,129 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,705,968. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $142.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.18, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.87. 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 one year low of $115.10 and a one year high of $183.31.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.24) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by $0.16. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The firm had revenue of $31.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $28.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.58 EPS. The company's revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Evan Bayh bought 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at $9,266,078.50. This trade represents a 1.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling purchased 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 12,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. This trade represents a 19.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Marathon Petroleum 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.