Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Lowers Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. reduced its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 4.2%, owning 273,360 shares valued at approximately $39.8 million after selling 11,900 shares in the first quarter.
• Several analysts have raised their target prices for Marathon Petroleum, with Wells Fargo setting a new target of $205.00 and maintaining an "overweight" rating on the stock.
• Marathon Petroleum recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, representing a 2.0% annual yield, with a current payout ratio of 54.01%.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. decreased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 273,360 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 11,900 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.09% of Marathon Petroleum worth $39,826,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MPC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 12.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,941,391 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $5,090,611,000 after purchasing an additional 3,834,501 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 58.5% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,448,514 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $791,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,011,810 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 18.7% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,824,177 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,722,664,000 after acquiring an additional 1,862,674 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 14,969.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,540,963 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $224,503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter valued at about $147,122,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, insider Molly R. Benson sold 10,879 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total transaction of $1,773,277.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 28,700 shares in the company, valued at $4,678,100. This trade represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 7,392 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 18,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,315,200. This trade represents a 28.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $180.98. The company had a trading volume of 2,006,133 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,580,094. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $115.10 and a fifty-two week high of $183.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $55.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $171.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.17.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.74. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 1.58% and a return on equity of 8.38%. The firm had revenue of $34.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.12 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is 54.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPC has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Friday, July 11th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Marathon Petroleum to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $186.57.

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.