Cambridge Financial Group Inc. Sells 2,858 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Cambridge Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,087 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,858 shares during the quarter. Marathon Petroleum comprises 3.0% of Cambridge Financial Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Cambridge Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $5,947,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Raymond James upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.62.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE MPC traded down $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $182.55. 1,868,555 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,394,157. The company has a market capitalization of $64.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.55. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $104.32 and a one year high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.43. The company’s 50-day moving average is $194.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.30.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $32.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.07 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 25.87% and a net margin of 5.32%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.09 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 19.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in 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 board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.48%.

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.