Invst LLC Takes $989,000 Position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Invst LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 3,867 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $989,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Solstein Capital LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Main Street Group LTD acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Molly R. Benson sold 17,196 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.57, for a total value of $6,165,969.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,876,862.38. This trade represents a 36.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Shawn M. Lyon sold 2,500 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $875,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 12,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,416,650. This represents a 16.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,032 shares of company stock valued at $8,744,213. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on MPC. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $291.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Zacks Research lowered Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $303.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $344.00 to $359.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $312.50.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $355.31 on Wednesday. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a twelve month low of $161.93 and a twelve month high of $367.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $301.58 and its 200-day moving average is $257.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.52.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $17.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $14.27 by $3.46. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 31.96%. The business had revenue of $51.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 53.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 46.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 13.75%.

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.