US Bancorp DE Sells 317,193 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

US Bancorp DE reduced its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 12.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,228,106 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 317,193 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE owned approximately 0.59% of Marathon Petroleum worth $330,562,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total transaction of $170,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,446 shares in the company, valued at $3,994,026.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MPC stock traded up $0.54 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $176.56. 2,651,555 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,725,115. 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $194.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.71. The company has a market capitalization of $62.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.55. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $104.32 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $32.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.07 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 25.87%. The company's revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.09 EPS. Research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 19.88 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MPC. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $204.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $221.00 to $195.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $190.77.

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.