Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,106,890 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,029,852 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Marathon Petroleum worth $4,339,411,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $911,274,000 after acquiring an additional 4,328,470 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,803,951 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $670,151,000 after purchasing an additional 315,786 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $495,595,000 after purchasing an additional 647,045 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 37.4% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,436,704 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $480,501,000 after buying an additional 935,042 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,807,566 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $398,388,000 after buying an additional 428,708 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Evan Bayh bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. The trade was a 1.46 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $134.72 per share, with a total value of $269,440.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at $1,638,464.64. The trade was a 19.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MPC shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.21.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $148.67 on Tuesday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $130.54 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. 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 firm has a market cap of $46.32 billion, a PE ratio of 14.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $149.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $151.89.

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

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum Company 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.