Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. Reduces Position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 8.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 85,012 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 7,600 shares during the quarter. Marathon Petroleum makes up 2.4% of Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $20,758,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 38.3% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,697 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,889,000 after buying an additional 7,396 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 26.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,221 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth about $8,505,000. Finally, AXA S.A. boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 46.7% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 39,675 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,590,000 after acquiring an additional 12,639 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total value of $1,703,243.52. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 16,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,543,058. This represents a 27.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $264.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings cut Marathon Petroleum from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $279.00 to $296.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $272.94.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC stock opened at $253.78 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 12 month low of $158.00 and a 12 month high of $272.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.09 billion, a PE ratio of 16.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $247.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $216.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 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 company had revenue of $34.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.24) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 31.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

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

About Marathon Petroleum

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.