Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 69.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,555 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,340 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,472,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 78.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,961,503 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,389,630,000 after acquiring an additional 4,367,774 shares in the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 16,338.3% in the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 4,177,133 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $582,710,000 after purchasing an additional 4,151,722 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $453,427,000. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 37.4% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,436,704 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $480,501,000 after buying an additional 935,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $495,595,000 after buying an additional 647,045 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Ricky D. Hessling bought 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. This represents a 19.68 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Evan Bayh acquired 1,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,266,078.50. This trade represents a 1.46 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $143.26 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average is $137.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $145.26. The company has a market capitalization of $44.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.87. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $115.10 and a fifty-two week high of $184.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $31.94 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.98 earnings per share. Marathon Petroleum's quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $193.00 to $183.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $161.00 to $141.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $169.00 to $147.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.21.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

Marathon Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated downstream energy company primarily in the United States. The company operates through Refining & Marketing, and Midstream segments. The Refining & Marketing segment refines crude oil and other feedstocks at its refineries in the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent, and West Coast regions of the United States; and purchases refined products and ethanol for resale and distributes refined products, including renewable diesel, through transportation, storage, distribution, and marketing services.

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