Easterly Investment Partners LLC Raises Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Easterly Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,739 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,744 shares during the quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $8,752,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. SWS Partners boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. SWS Partners now owns 17,577 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,452,000 after buying an additional 2,806 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $75,757,000 after acquiring an additional 501,441 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,466,000 after purchasing an additional 18,764 shares in the last quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 161,171 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $22,483,000 after purchasing an additional 5,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 91,256 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $12,730,000 after acquiring an additional 2,892 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $149.63 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.07, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $130.54 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $149.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $151.76.

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

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MPC shares. Raymond James lifted their price target 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. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Evan Bayh acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,266,078.50. This represents a 1.46 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $134.72 per share, with a total value of $269,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. This represents a 19.68 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.