Straightline Group LLC Takes Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Straightline Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,965 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $274,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. SWS Partners lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. SWS Partners now owns 17,577 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,452,000 after buying an additional 2,806 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $75,757,000 after acquiring an additional 501,441 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,466,000 after acquiring an additional 18,764 shares in the last quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 161,171 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $22,483,000 after purchasing an additional 5,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 91,256 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,730,000 after purchasing an additional 2,892 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Evan Bayh acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 69,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. This represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $134.72 per share, with a total value of $269,440.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. This represents a 19.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.2 %

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $121.37 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $115.10 and a one year high of $219.74. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $150.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.04.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.98 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on MPC. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.29.

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.