Challenger Wealth Management Purchases New Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Challenger Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 5,347 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $746,000.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on MPC shares. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $169.00 to $147.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $175.29.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE MPC remained flat at $159.92 during trading on Friday. 900,809 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,806,343. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $115.10 and a 1-year high of $183.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $146.20. 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 (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.40) by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $31.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $28.91 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.58 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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