Saxon Interests Inc. Makes New $1.25 Million Investment in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Saxon Interests Inc. bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 8,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,252,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 121,130.8% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,942,426 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $458,859,000 after acquiring an additional 3,939,174 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $453,190,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 22,119.1% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,227,468 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $190,449,000 after buying an additional 2,217,443 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 246.4% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,216,688 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $141,866,000 after buying an additional 865,418 shares during the period. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at $109,099,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MPC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Barclays raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $163.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Mizuho raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total transaction of $170,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,994,026.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of MPC traded up $4.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $201.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,064,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,881,661. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $104.32 and a 12-month high of $203.01. The stock has a market cap of $72.61 billion, a PE ratio of 8.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company’s 50 day moving average is $174.04 and its 200 day moving average is $158.54.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $1.77. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 30.58% and a net margin of 6.44%. The firm had revenue of $36.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.65 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 15.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.02%.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

Marathon Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated downstream energy company primarily in the United States. The company operates through Refining & Marketing, and Midstream segments. The Refining & Marketing segment refines crude oil and other feedstocks at its refineries in the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent, and West Coast regions of the United States; and purchases refined products and ethanol for resale and distributes refined products, including renewable diesel, through transportation, storage, distribution, and marketing services.