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

Joseph Group Capital Management lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 40.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,578 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,623 shares during the quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,731,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MPC. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 44.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 15,865 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,585,000 after acquiring an additional 4,868 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth $4,073,000. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 10.2% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 89,122 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $14,519,000 after purchasing an additional 8,283 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth about $782,000. Finally, Acropolis Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 10.1% during the third quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 4,368 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $712,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ricky D. Hessling purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Evan Bayh acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 69,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,266,078.50. The trade was a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of MPC opened at $144.05 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $130.54 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $44.88 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. The business’s 50 day moving average is $148.74 and its 200 day moving average is $151.51.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.98 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on MPC. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho dropped their target price on 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 lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.