Bessemer Group Inc. Acquires 157 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 0.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 157 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $4,514,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MPC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,941,391 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,090,611,000 after purchasing an additional 3,834,501 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 58.5% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,448,514 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $791,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,011,810 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,824,177 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,722,664,000 after purchasing an additional 1,862,674 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at $147,122,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 26.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,675,362 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $535,465,000 after purchasing an additional 769,015 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of MPC stock opened at $195.53 on Thursday. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 52-week low of $115.10 and a 52-week high of $201.61. The stock has a market cap of $59.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.01, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $185.34 and a 200-day moving average of $168.95.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $3.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.74. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 1.58% and a return on equity of 8.38%. The business had revenue of $34.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.12 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 54.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, insider Molly R. Benson sold 10,879 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total value of $1,773,277.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 28,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,678,100. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $182.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Friday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $214.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $184.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.31.

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.