Aspire Growth Partners LLC Takes Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Aspire Growth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 9,155 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $1,277,000. Marathon Petroleum accounts for approximately 1.2% of Aspire Growth Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MPC. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 994 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 2,068 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,271 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 395 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,171 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $169.00 to $147.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $193.00 to $183.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.21.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock traded up $1.71 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $143.26. 3,426,945 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,695,665. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $137.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $145.26. The firm has a market cap of $44.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.04. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $115.10 and a 52 week high of $184.77.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.98 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

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

Marathon Petroleum 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.