Alliancebernstein L.P. Raises Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 434,247 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 685 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.14% of Marathon Petroleum worth $60,577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 762.9% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 302 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling purchased 2,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought 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 approximately $1,638,464.64. This trade represents a 19.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Evan Bayh bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 5.9 %

MPC opened at $121.02 on Friday. 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 $37.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $115.97 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $150.77.

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

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MPC shares. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Mizuho cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $193.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, March 27th. One equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.29.

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.