Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Reduces Stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 62.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 121,200 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 199,299 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $29,595,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $696,000 after buying an additional 1,178 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 38.3% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,697 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,889,000 after buying an additional 7,396 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in 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 valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter worth $8,505,000. Finally, AXA S.A. increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 46.7% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 39,675 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,590,000 after acquiring an additional 12,639 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.1%

MPC opened at $253.78 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $74.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $247.79 and its 200 day moving average is $216.35. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $158.00 and a fifty-two week high of $272.46.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.91. The business had revenue of $34.20 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.24) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 31.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MPC. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $224.00 to $260.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $344.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $197.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $233.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $272.94.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

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

Marathon Petroleum Company 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.