Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Has $3.33 Million Position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 65.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,493 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 39,683 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $3,333,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at about $2,891,000. Diversified Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 39.3% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 15,675 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,549,000 after acquiring an additional 4,419 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,004,000. North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,714,000. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $791,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Weiss Ratings cut Marathon Petroleum from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $224.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $243.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group set a $285.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $272.94.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC stock opened at $243.11 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $245.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $214.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market cap of $70.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.52. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 12 month low of $158.00 and a 12 month high of $272.46.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.91. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The company had revenue of $34.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.24) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 31.35 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Petroleum news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total transaction of $1,703,243.52. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 16,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,543,058. The trade was a 27.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.