Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC Shares Sold by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 15.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 40,796 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 7,345 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $16,132,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 2.0% during the third quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 1,066 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $422,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. CRA Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 1,844 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $729,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,130 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $842,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 316 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, LexAurum Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. LexAurum Advisors LLC now owns 930 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Molly R. Benson sold 17,196 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.57, for a total transaction of $6,165,969.72. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 30,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,876,862.38. This represents a 36.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Erin M. Brzezinski sold 570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $362.79, for a total transaction of $206,790.30. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $571,757.04. The trade was a 26.56% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 21,691 shares of company stock worth $7,780,127 in the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore set a $330.00 price objective on Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Mizuho raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $304.00 to $457.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $376.00 to $472.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. UBS Group set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $450.00 to $478.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $424.31.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock traded down $2.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $457.00. 1,460,350 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,005,655. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $410.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $316.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $133.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.71, a PEG ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.54. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 52 week low of $161.93 and a 52 week high of $493.98.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $17.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $14.27 by $3.46. The firm had revenue of $51.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.87 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 31.96% and a net margin of 5.48%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 53.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.96 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 63.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.75%.

About Marathon Petroleum

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) is an American downstream energy company engaged in refining, marketing, and transporting petroleum products. Its operations include converting crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt, propane, and other refined products used by transportation, industrial, and commercial customers.

The company markets fuel under the Marathon brand and supplies products to independent marketers, commercial businesses, and other wholesale customers. Marathon Petroleum also owns a general-partner interest and significant limited-partner interest in MPLX Inc, a midstream company that operates pipelines, storage facilities, terminals, and gathering and processing assets supporting the movement of crude oil and natural gas liquids.

Marathon Petroleum’s refining and midstream activities are concentrated in the United States, with assets serving regions across the Midwest, Gulf Coast, and West Coast.