First Trust Advisors LP Boosts Stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 112.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 276,483 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 146,512 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $67,512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 2,637 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,548 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,411,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 3,220 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $786,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFG Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 3,429 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $558,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of MPC stock opened at $309.14 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $90.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.21 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 Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $158.00 and a fifty-two week high of $326.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $268.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $232.62.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $34.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.24) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 43.19 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is 26.11%.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,543,058. This represents a 27.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on MPC shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $343.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings raised Marathon Petroleum from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $257.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $298.69.

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.