Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,021 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the period. Marathon Petroleum comprises approximately 0.9% of Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $4,306,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Marino Stram & Associates LLC grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 11,424 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,695,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 20,408 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,028,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 8,756 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,299,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,465 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $676,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently 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 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 transaction of $170,350.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,994,026.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $181.73 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $194.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $168.73. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $104.32 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.03 billion, a PE ratio of 9.04, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.43.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly 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. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 25.87%. The firm had revenue of $32.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.09 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 19.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 16.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $221.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.62.

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.