CoreFirst Bank & Trust Buys Shares of 3,724 Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,724 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $519,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SWS Partners grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. SWS Partners now owns 17,577 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,452,000 after purchasing an additional 2,806 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,757,000 after acquiring an additional 501,441 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,466,000 after acquiring an additional 18,764 shares in the last quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 161,171 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $22,483,000 after acquiring an additional 5,476 shares during the period. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 91,256 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,730,000 after purchasing an additional 2,892 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $148.67 on Tuesday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $130.54 and a 52-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’s fifty day moving average is $149.07 and its 200 day moving average is $151.89. The company has a market cap of $46.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.97, a PEG 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion for 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 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Evan Bayh purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s 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 purchase, the director now owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. This trade represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling acquired 2,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased 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 directly owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at $1,638,464.64. This trade represents a 19.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.21.

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.