Joseph Group Capital Management Grows Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Joseph Group Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 40.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,578 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 5,623 shares during the quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,731,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 2,068 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,271 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $596,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. American Trust raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 5.3% in the third quarter. American Trust now owns 1,397 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 395 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of 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 raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.21.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Ricky D. Hessling bought 2,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was 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 directly owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. This represents a 19.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Evan Bayh purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares of the company’s stock, 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 corporate insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC stock opened at $144.05 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51, a P/E/G 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. The business’s 50 day moving average is $148.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $151.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion for 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 business’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.98 EPS. Analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

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

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.