D.A. Davidson & CO. Acquires 3,952 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 12.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,041 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,952 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $8,801,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter valued at about $40,000. Navalign LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Sawyer & Company Inc acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total value of $1,703,243.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 16,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,543,058. This trade represents a 27.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MPC. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Zacks Research downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $233.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Bank of America raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $224.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $321.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.56.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $312.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.18. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 52 week low of $158.00 and a 52 week high of $313.15. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $262.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $227.34. The company has a market capitalization of $91.30 billion, a PE ratio of 20.41, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.52.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.91. The business had revenue of $34.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.24) earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 35.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.11%.

About Marathon Petroleum

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: MPC) is a U.S.-based downstream energy company engaged principally in the refining, marketing, supply and transportation of petroleum products. The company was formed through a spin-off from Marathon Oil in 2011 and operates an integrated system of refining and logistics assets that support the production and distribution of transportation fuels and other refined petroleum products.

Marathon Petroleum’s operations include refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and other specialty products, as well as managing the distribution and storage infrastructure needed to move those products to market.