Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Acquired by Vestcor Inc

Vestcor Inc increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 59.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,262 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,063 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $4,501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MPC. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 44.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 294 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 11.5% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 478,876 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $78,014,000 after buying an additional 49,523 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 6.6% during the third quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 6,279 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 6.3% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 6,315 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC stock opened at $136.82 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $148.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.39. 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 $42.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $130.54 and a 12 month high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) 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 return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.98 EPS. Research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.00.

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.