National Bank of Canada FI Increases Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 32.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,123,761 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 277,005 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.35% of Marathon Petroleum worth $156,759,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 78.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,961,503 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,389,630,000 after acquiring an additional 4,367,774 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,803,951 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $670,151,000 after purchasing an additional 315,786 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $495,595,000 after purchasing an additional 647,045 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 37.4% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,436,704 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $480,501,000 after buying an additional 935,042 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth $453,427,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MPC. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.21.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Ricky D. Hessling purchased 2,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at $1,638,464.64. This represents a 19.68 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Evan Bayh acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:MPC opened at $145.85 on Tuesday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $130.54 and a one year high of $221.11. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $151.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market cap of $45.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The business’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

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.