Aspire Growth Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Aspire Growth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 9,155 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,277,000. Marathon Petroleum makes up about 1.2% of Aspire Growth Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MPC. Virtu Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 4,373 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $712,000 after buying an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% during the 3rd 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. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 121.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 17,445 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 9,551 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 29.6% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 739 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New Hampshire boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 689 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $161.00 to $141.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $169.00 to $147.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $193.00 to $183.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

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

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of MPC stock opened at $141.53 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $115.10 and a fifty-two week high of $184.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.09 billion, a PE ratio of 14.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $137.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.54.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.98 EPS. 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 will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum 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.