3,250,371 Shares in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Purchased by Norges Bank

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,250,371 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $453,427,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 2,068 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,271 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. American Trust boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 5.3% during the third quarter. American Trust now owns 1,397 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 395 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ricky D. Hessling purchased 2,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $134.72 per share, with a total value of $269,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at $1,638,464.64. This trade represents a 19.68 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Evan Bayh acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at $9,266,078.50. This represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC stock opened at $144.05 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $148.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $151.59. The stock has a market cap of $44.88 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $130.54 and a 52-week high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.98 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 36.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.21.

Marathon Petroleum 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.