Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,886,848 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 154,333 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $363,671,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,866,104 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,456,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,924,713 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth about $527,197,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 14.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,013,213 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,325,598,000 after buying an additional 1,033,645 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 13.1% in the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,163,737 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,024,395,000 after buying an additional 715,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 27,979.8% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 659,595 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $109,565,000 after buying an additional 657,246 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on MPC. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $202.00 to $194.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $174.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $216.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $197.19.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC opened at $176.06 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 52-week low of $115.10 and a 52-week high of $202.29. The company has a 50 day moving average of $177.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $180.53. The company has a market cap of $52.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas company reported $3.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.01. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.76%. The business had revenue of $34.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.06 billion. On average, analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

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.