Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC Shares Sold by Ballentine Partners LLC

Ballentine Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 35.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,841 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 7,201 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1,546.2% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 214 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1,621.4% during the 1st quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 241 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Molly R. Benson sold 10,879 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total value of $1,773,277.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 28,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,678,100. This trade represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 7,392 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,293,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,944 shares in the company, valued at $3,315,200. The trade was a 28.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $184.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $195.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $182.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.50.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC stock opened at $193.05 on Thursday. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 52-week low of $115.10 and a 52-week high of $194.92. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $174.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.97.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $3.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.74. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 1.58%.The business had revenue of $34.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.01%.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.