ABC Arbitrage SA Takes $797,000 Position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC)

Key Points

• ABC Arbitrage SA acquired 5,470 shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation, valued at approximately $797,000, marking a new position in the company during the first quarter.
• The oil and gas company's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $3.96 EPS compared to the estimated $3.22, with revenue of $34.10 billion, despite a year-over-year decline in revenue by 11.1%.
• Marathon Petroleum announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.2%, with the dividend payment scheduled for September 10th.

ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 5,470 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $797,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $696,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178 shares in the last quarter. GHE LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 38,572 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,381,000 after acquiring an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth $1,622,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 193,920 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $27,550,000 after buying an additional 16,960 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,400,826 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $474,415,000 after buying an additional 88,901 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price target (up from $180.00) on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Piper Sandler raised their price target 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. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $182.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. 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 data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $185.29.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC stock traded down $0.56 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $160.95. 1,278,171 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,963,470. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 12 month low of $115.10 and a 12 month high of $183.10. The company has a market cap of $48.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.88, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.90. The company's 50 day moving average price is $169.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $3.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.74. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 1.58% and a return on equity of 8.38%. The company had revenue of $34.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.12 EPS. Marathon Petroleum's revenue was down 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is currently 54.01%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 7,392 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,293,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,315,200. The trade was a 28.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.