Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC Stake Lowered by Empyrean Capital Partners LP

Empyrean Capital Partners LP lessened its stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 8.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 398,100 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 38,400 shares during the quarter. Marathon Petroleum accounts for 3.2% of Empyrean Capital Partners LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Empyrean Capital Partners LP owned approximately 0.14% of Marathon Petroleum worth $97,208,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $696,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 38.3% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,697 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,889,000 after acquiring an additional 7,396 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 26.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,221 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $8,505,000. Finally, AXA S.A. raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 46.7% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 39,675 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,590,000 after purchasing an additional 12,639 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 16,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,543,058. This trade represents a 27.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on MPC shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $315.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $257.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $257.00 to $303.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $298.69.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $311.79 on Tuesday. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $158.00 and a fifty-two week high of $326.92. The company has a market capitalization of $91.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $269.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $234.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.91. The business had revenue of $34.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 3.36%.The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.24) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 43.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

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

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.