Ascent Wealth Partners LLC Purchases New Position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 9,105 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,223,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,934,327 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,916,660,000 after acquiring an additional 47,896 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 141,691 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $472,312,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,818,361 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $458,350,000 after purchasing an additional 11,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,600,191 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $422,869,000 after purchasing an additional 67,600 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $312.74 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $262.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $227.34. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a twelve month low of $158.00 and a twelve month high of $313.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $34.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 3.36%.Marathon Petroleum’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.24) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 35.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 26.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of the firm’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 sale, the vice president owned 16,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,543,058. This trade represents a 27.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on MPC shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $257.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $197.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.56.

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.