Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Stock Position Lifted by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 43,098 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 822 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $6,012,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. FWG Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth about $396,000. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $1,080,000. Argentarii LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $592,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 28,906 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,032,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Evan Bayh acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the transaction, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE:MPC opened at $137.39 on Thursday. 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 has a market cap of $42.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.84, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $148.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.50.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.98 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James upped their price objective 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. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.