Pacer Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 15.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,360,706 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 317,883 shares during the quarter. Marathon Petroleum comprises about 1.1% of Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.56% of Marathon Petroleum worth $275,258,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 121,130.8% during the fourth 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 position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $453,190,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 22,119.1% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,227,468 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $190,449,000 after acquiring an additional 2,217,443 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 17,187.7% during the first quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,899,577 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $283,046,000 after acquiring an additional 1,888,589 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 571.6% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,048,619 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $51,152,000 after acquiring an additional 1,743,598 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $140.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $142.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 8th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $161.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $162.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $133.00 to $143.00 in a report on Friday, August 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.00.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 2.0 %

MPC traded down $3.12 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $153.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,027,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,772,287. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $138.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market cap of $61.26 billion, a PE ratio of 5.67, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.62. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $89.40 and a twelve month high of $157.99.

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

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 16th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.89%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Timothy J. Aydt sold 4,913 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.26, for a total value of $713,662.38. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,995 shares in the company, valued at $2,759,213.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Timothy J. Aydt sold 4,913 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.26, for a total transaction of $713,662.38. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,995 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,759,213.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Gregory Scott Floerke sold 8,189 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.80, for a total value of $1,193,956.20. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 28,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,691.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,188 shares of company stock valued at $3,890,973 in the last ninety days. Company 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.