Horizon Investments LLC Has $1.30 Million Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Horizon Investments LLC lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,308 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Claro Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 1,710 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at approximately $231,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,876,000. West Family Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 2,405 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $149.37 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $130.54 and a 1-year high of $221.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $148.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $152.52.

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

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought 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 represents a 19.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Evan Bayh purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at $9,266,078.50. This trade 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of 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 target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.13.

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.