Prudential PLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Prudential PLC decreased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 20.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,654 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,672 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 762.9% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 302 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $193.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

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

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 5.9 %

MPC opened at $121.02 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.04. 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 Co. has a one year low of $112.74 and a one year high of $219.74. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.58.

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

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

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.