Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Stake Cut by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 91.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,831 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 18,670 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 78.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,961,503 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,389,630,000 after buying an additional 4,367,774 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 315,786 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $495,595,000 after acquiring an additional 647,045 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 37.4% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,436,704 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $480,501,000 after purchasing an additional 935,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,400,826 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $474,415,000 after purchasing an additional 88,901 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MPC shares. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $193.00 to $183.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $169.00 to $147.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $161.00 to $141.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.79.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $127.55 on Monday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $115.10 and a 12 month high of $201.36. 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 company has a market cap of $39.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s 50 day moving average is $140.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.27.

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

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 36.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, insider Ricky D. Hessling acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. This trade represents a 19.68 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Evan Bayh bought 1,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 69,305 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.