Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,741 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 499 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 121,130.8% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,942,426 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $458,859,000 after purchasing an additional 3,939,174 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth $453,190,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22,119.1% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,227,468 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $190,449,000 after acquiring an additional 2,217,443 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 17,187.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,899,577 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $283,046,000 after acquiring an additional 1,888,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 571.6% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,048,619 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $51,152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,743,598 shares during the period. 74.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE:MPC opened at $156.35 on Tuesday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $89.40 and a 52 week high of $157.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $62.51 billion, a PE ratio of 5.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.62. The business’s 50 day moving average is $138.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.07.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The oil and gas company reported $5.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.55 by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $36.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.60 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 36.33%. The firm’s revenue was down 32.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $10.61 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 21.81 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $148.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $142.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $132.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 7th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $161.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $140.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.25, for a total transaction of $793,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 29,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,935,760. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Marathon Petroleum news, COO Gregory Scott Floerke sold 8,189 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.80, for a total value of $1,193,956.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 28,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,174,691.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 6,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.25, for a total value of $793,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 29,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,935,760. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,188 shares of company stock valued at $3,890,973 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

About Marathon Petroleum

Marathon Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated downstream energy company primarily in the United States. It operates in two segments, Refining & Marketing, and Midstream. 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.