North Star Asset Management Inc. Buys New Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC)

Key Points

• North Star Asset Management Inc. purchased 1,608 shares of Marathon Petroleum, valued at approximately $234,000, during the first quarter.
• Mizuho and other analysts have recently raised their target prices for Marathon Petroleum, indicating a potential for growth, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $183.93.
• Marathon Petroleum announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91, amounting to an annualized yield of 2.13% set to be paid on September 10th.

North Star Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,608 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MPC. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1,546.2% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 214 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1,621.4% during the first quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 241 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective (up from $180.00) on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $183.93.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 7,392 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $1,293,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,315,200. This trade represents a 28.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of MPC stock traded down $4.72 on Friday, hitting $165.47. The company had a trading volume of 1,385,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,970,498. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a twelve month low of $115.10 and a twelve month high of $183.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market cap of $50.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.90. The stock's 50-day moving average is $168.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.27.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by $0.16. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 8.89%. The firm had revenue of $31.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.58 EPS. The company's revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is currently 51.20%.

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.