Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Boosts Stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 13.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 49,710 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,035 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $8,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 332.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 320,499 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $52,123,000 after purchasing an additional 246,384 shares during the period. Merewether Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,548,000. Amundi boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,626,862 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $314,830,000 after buying an additional 172,172 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,305,428 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,214,522,000 after buying an additional 141,691 shares during the period. Finally, Credit Agricole S A acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at $20,370,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $252.08 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market cap of $73.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50-day moving average of $232.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $202.34. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 12-month low of $154.65 and a 12-month high of $261.61.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.91. The company had revenue of $34.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.24) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 28.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 26.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $264.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $257.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.25.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,810 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.78, for a total transaction of $406,851.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,290,058.64. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 4,473 shares of company stock worth $1,015,428 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.