Central Valley Advisors LLC Purchases New Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 12,298 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $1,825,000. Marathon Petroleum makes up about 1.1% of Central Valley Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 215 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $176.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,342,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,729,787. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $104.32 and a 1-year high of $221.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.55. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $195.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.49.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.09 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.48%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on MPC. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $204.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Bank of America upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $190.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,446 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,994,026.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.

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