Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Takes $569,000 Position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 2,224 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $569,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in shares of 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 period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 570.7% during the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 143,500 shares during the period. North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth about $1,714,000. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,977,000. Finally, Shepherd Street Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at about $878,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $361.02 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 12-month low of $161.93 and a 12-month high of $367.24. The business has a 50 day moving average of $293.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $252.19. The company has a market capitalization of $105.40 billion, a PE ratio of 12.41, a PEG ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.52.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $17.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $14.27 by $3.46. The business had revenue of $51.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.87 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 31.96%. The business’s revenue was up 53.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.96 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 46.66 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.75%.

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 on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total value of $1,703,243.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 16,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,543,058. The trade was a 27.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Shawn M. Lyon sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $875,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 12,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,416,650. The trade was a 16.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MPC shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $257.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $291.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Evercore set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $224.00 to $260.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $312.50.

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.