540 Shares in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC Acquired by Ransom Advisory Ltd

Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 540 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1,546.2% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 214 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1,621.4% in the first quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 241 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised Marathon Petroleum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised Marathon Petroleum to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.50.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.8%

MPC opened at $181.64 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.23. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $115.10 and a fifty-two week high of $186.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $172.45 and its 200 day moving average is $156.72. The stock has a market cap of $55.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.97.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $3.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.74. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 1.58% and a return on equity of 8.38%. The company had revenue of $34.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.12 EPS. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 54.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Molly R. Benson sold 10,879 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total transaction of $1,773,277.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 28,700 shares in the company, valued at $4,678,100. This trade represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 7,392 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,293,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,315,200. The trade was a 28.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.