AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,730 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $660,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $911,274,000 after purchasing an additional 4,328,470 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in 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 valued at $670,151,000 after purchasing an additional 315,786 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $495,595,000 after buying an additional 647,045 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 37.4% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,436,704 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $480,501,000 after buying an additional 935,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,807,566 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $398,388,000 after buying an additional 428,708 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC stock opened at $147.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $130.54 and a one year high of $221.11. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $148.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $151.72.

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

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $134.72 per share, with a total value 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Evan Bayh bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.21.

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.