Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Buys Shares of 46,866 Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 46,866 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,982,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $696,000 after buying an additional 1,178 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 38.3% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,697 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,889,000 after buying an additional 7,396 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 26.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,221 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,505,000. Finally, AXA S.A. raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 46.7% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 39,675 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,590,000 after acquiring an additional 12,639 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total value of $1,703,243.52. Following the sale, the vice president owned 16,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,543,058. This trade represents a 27.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Shawn M. Lyon sold 2,500 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $875,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 12,619 shares in the company, valued at $4,416,650. This represents a 16.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $344.00 to $359.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $289.00 to $321.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $284.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $312.50.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $362.18 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $297.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $254.23. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 52-week low of $161.93 and a 52-week high of $367.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.73 billion, a PE ratio of 12.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.52.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $17.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $14.27 by $3.46. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 31.96%. The firm had revenue of $51.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.87 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.96 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 53.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 46.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.75%.

Marathon Petroleum Profile

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.