Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Bought by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 55.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,212 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,572 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,006,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 762.9% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 302 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. One 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $175.29.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock traded down $1.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $164.07. The stock had a trading volume of 2,836,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,717,656. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $139.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $145.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $115.10 and a 1 year high of $183.31.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.40) by $0.16. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The company had revenue of $31.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.58 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

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 $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.20%.

Insider Activity

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

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.