Sapient Capital LLC Buys 2,222 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Sapient Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 158.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,622 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 2,222 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $884,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MPC. Navalign LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MPC shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $270.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $321.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Friday, July 10th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $224.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $298.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total value of $1,703,243.52. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 16,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,543,058. This represents a 27.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 2.9%

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $307.20 on Tuesday. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 12-month low of $158.00 and a 12-month high of $326.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $275.17 and a 200 day moving average of $238.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.91. The business had revenue of $34.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.24) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 43.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 26.11%.

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.