Candriam S.C.A. Boosts Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Candriam S.C.A. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,677 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 1,335 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $3,861,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $911,274,000 after purchasing an additional 4,328,470 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth about $114,107,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $495,595,000 after purchasing an additional 647,045 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 212.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 846,756 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $137,945,000 after purchasing an additional 576,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 501,441 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Evan Bayh bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 69,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. The trade was a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MPC shares. Mizuho cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Raymond James increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.00.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.1 %

MPC opened at $137.65 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.86, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $130.54 and a one year high of $221.11.

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

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

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.