Volterra Technologies LP Takes $674,000 Position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Volterra Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 2,759 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $674,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,178 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased 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 worth $3,889,000 after purchasing an additional 7,396 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position 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 valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $8,505,000. Finally, AXA S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 46.7% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 39,675 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,590,000 after buying an additional 12,639 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MPC. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $270.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $335.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $257.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $315.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $298.69.

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 value of $1,703,243.52. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 16,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,543,058. This trade represents a 27.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $311.92 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $267.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $232.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 12-month low of $158.00 and a 12-month high of $326.92.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.24) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 35.82 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 26.11%.

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.