Encore Global Management LP Buys New Stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Encore Global Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 8,750 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,137,000. Marathon Petroleum comprises about 1.5% of Encore Global Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 31.0% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 213,545 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $52,146,000 after acquiring an additional 50,521 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 570.7% during the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 168,644 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $41,180,000 after purchasing an additional 143,500 shares during the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $1,714,000. KBC Group NV grew its position 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 valued at $36,728,000 after purchasing an additional 41,259 shares during the period. Finally, ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $4,977,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 16,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,543,058. This represents a 27.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $224.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $257.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $257.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $270.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $298.69.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $306.58 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $270.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $234.97. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a twelve month low of $158.00 and a twelve month high of $326.92. 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 capitalization of $89.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.01, a PEG ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.52.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.91. The company had revenue of $34.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 3.36%.The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.24) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 43.19 earnings per share for the current year.

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.