Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Decreases Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. cut its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 138,914 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 4,723 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $19,379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 762.9% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 302 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MPC shares. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.21.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $144.05 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $148.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $151.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $130.54 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.88 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results 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. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Evan Bayh purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. The trade was a 1.46 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling acquired 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, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. This 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 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.