87,643 Shares in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Purchased by GF Fund Management CO. LTD.

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 87,643 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $12,226,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. now owns 1,575 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the period. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $331,000. Vega Investment Solutions bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $135,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 48.2% during the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 8,008 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,117,000 after acquiring an additional 2,605 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 2.0%

MPC traded up $3.15 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $162.26. 2,479,976 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,709,393. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $141.77 and a 200 day moving average of $145.97. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $115.10 and a 12-month high of $183.31.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.24) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by $0.16. The business had revenue of $31.85 billion during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.58 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 is Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is currently 51.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MPC. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $169.00 to $147.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $141.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $175.29.

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.