Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Lowers Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 438,471 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 30,464 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.14% of Marathon Petroleum worth $61,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MPC. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 672.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Evan Bayh acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. This represents a 19.68 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC stock opened at $149.37 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $46.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $152.52. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $130.54 and a one year high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.98 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on MPC. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays upped 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.13.

Marathon Petroleum Company 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.