Vanguard Group Inc. Reduces Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,106,890 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,029,852 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.68% of Marathon Petroleum worth $4,339,411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth about $473,000. Intellus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $252,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 40.4% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 30,460 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,249,000 after purchasing an additional 8,758 shares during the last quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,283,000. Finally, Summit Global Investments lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 115.6% during the 4th quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 2,969 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $414,000 after buying an additional 1,592 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.21.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $148.67 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $130.54 and a 52-week high of $221.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $151.89. The company has a market capitalization of $46.32 billion, a PE ratio of 14.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.98 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Evan Bayh bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at $9,266,078.50. The trade was a 1.46 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Company 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.