Vestcor Inc Increases Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Vestcor Inc lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 59.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,262 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,063 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $4,501,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Essential Planning LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,483,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,798 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 545 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 16,554 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,309,000 after purchasing an additional 1,193 shares during the period. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $70,000. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 19,754 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,756,000 after purchasing an additional 1,124 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $136.82 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.39. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $130.54 and a 52-week high of $221.11. The firm has a market cap of $42.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.98 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Ricky D. Hessling bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $134.72 per share, with a total value of $269,440.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 12,162 shares in the company, 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 SEC, 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 acquired at an average cost of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at $9,266,078.50. This trade represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MPC shares. Tudor Pickering raised 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 $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler lowered 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 note on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.00.

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.