Mariner LLC Lowers Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Mariner LLC reduced its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 620,713 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 90,692 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $85,743,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,961,503 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,389,630,000 after acquiring an additional 4,367,774 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $453,427,000. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 37.4% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,436,704 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $480,501,000 after purchasing an additional 935,042 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $495,595,000 after purchasing an additional 647,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,757,000 after purchasing an additional 501,441 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $124.87 on Tuesday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $115.10 and a 52-week high of $210.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The business has a fifty day moving average of $143.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $148.44. The stock has a market cap of $38.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.58, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho decreased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $193.00 to $183.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $161.00 to $141.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $169.00 to $147.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. This trade represents a 1.46 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,638,464.64. This trade represents a 19.68 % 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 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.