IFM Investors Pty Ltd Raises Position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 5.0% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 50,282 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,385 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $12,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Diversified Trust Co. raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 39.3% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 15,675 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,549,000 after buying an additional 4,419 shares during the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,714,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $791,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 225,837 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $36,728,000 after acquiring an additional 41,259 shares during the period. Finally, KKM Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 27.6% during the third quarter. KKM Financial LLC now owns 26,202 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,050,000 after purchasing an additional 5,661 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total transaction of $1,703,243.52. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 16,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,543,058. The trade was a 27.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE MPC opened at $264.77 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $250.30 and its 200 day moving average is $218.02. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $158.00 and a fifty-two week high of $272.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $77.30 billion, a PE ratio of 17.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 0.52.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.91. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 3.36%.The business had revenue of $34.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.24) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 32.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group set a $285.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $233.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $197.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $272.62.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.