Challenger Wealth Management Purchases Shares of 5,347 Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Challenger Wealth Management bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,347 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $746,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 78.1% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 4,367,774 shares in the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 16,338.3% during the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 4,177,133 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $582,710,000 after purchasing an additional 4,151,722 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth approximately $453,427,000. Boston Partners increased its stake 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 worth $480,501,000 after purchasing an additional 935,042 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $495,595,000 after acquiring an additional 647,045 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock traded up $1.24 during trading on Thursday, hitting $159.85. The stock had a trading volume of 1,961,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,702,958. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $115.10 and a 1 year high of $183.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock's 50 day moving average is $142.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.17. The stock has a market cap of $49.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.87.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by $0.16. The business had revenue of $31.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.91 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. Marathon Petroleum's revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.58 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict 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 given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $193.00 to $183.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $175.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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