Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC Shares Bought by MQS Management LLC

MQS Management LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 35.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,641 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 2,020 shares during the quarter. Marathon Petroleum accounts for approximately 0.7% of MQS Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. MQS Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Associated Banc Corp grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Associated Banc Corp now owns 2,862 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $465,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,113 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 2,925 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,884 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orange Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth about $229,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $243.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $205.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $263.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.44.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $255.22 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 12 month low of $155.93 and a 12 month high of $264.14. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $238.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $205.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market cap of $74.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.53.

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. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The firm had revenue of $34.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.24) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 29.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,626 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.18, for a total transaction of $371,020.68. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,717,054.50. This represents a 17.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,473 shares of company stock worth $1,015,428. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.