Ethic Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Ethic Inc. grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 23.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,077 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 721.4% during the fourth quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 230 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.2%

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

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.91. The firm had revenue of $34.20 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.24) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 28.83 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.78, for a total value of $406,851.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,290,058.64. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold a total of 4,473 shares of company stock worth $1,015,428 in the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $197.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $243.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.25.

Marathon Petroleum Company 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.