Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 214,697 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,621 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned 0.07% of Marathon Petroleum worth $34,916,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 2.3% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,305,428 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,214,522,000 after acquiring an additional 141,691 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth $472,312,000. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.0% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,861,020 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $358,693,000 after buying an additional 35,847 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 11.8% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 1,626,862 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $314,830,000 after buying an additional 172,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 885,426 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $143,997,000 after buying an additional 36,158 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $262.26 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $242.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.11. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 1 year low of $158.00 and a 1 year high of $272.46. The stock has a market cap of $76.56 billion, a PE ratio of 17.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.52.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.91. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The firm had revenue of $34.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.24) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 30.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.11%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.78, for a total transaction of $406,851.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,290,058.64. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 4,473 shares of company stock worth $1,015,428 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on MPC. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $257.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $268.50.

Marathon Petroleum Profile

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: MPC) is a U.S.-based downstream energy company engaged principally in the refining, marketing, supply and transportation of petroleum products. The company was formed through a spin-off from Marathon Oil in 2011 and operates an integrated system of refining and logistics assets that support the production and distribution of transportation fuels and other refined petroleum products.

Marathon Petroleum’s operations include refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and other specialty products, as well as managing the distribution and storage infrastructure needed to move those products to market.