Allstate Corp Acquires 12,613 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Key Points

• Allstate Corp increased its Marathon Petroleum stake by 117.6% in the fourth quarter, ending with 23,334 shares valued at about $3.8 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on MPC remains positive: several firms raised price targets, with the stock carrying a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target of $268.50.
• Marathon Petroleum reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.65 versus $0.74 expected and revenue of $34.2 billion, while also announcing a $1.00 quarterly dividend to be paid June 10.

Allstate Corp boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 117.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,334 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,613 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $3,795,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Boston Partners raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,305,428 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,214,522,000 after buying an additional 141,691 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,861,020 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $358,693,000 after buying an additional 35,847 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,626,862 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $314,830,000 after purchasing an additional 172,172 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 849,268 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $163,688,000 after purchasing an additional 14,308 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 669,237 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $128,989,000 after purchasing an additional 11,948 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MPC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $264.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum to $335.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $268.50.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of MPC stock opened at $247.21 on Thursday. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 52-week low of $155.93 and a 52-week high of $264.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.17 billion, a PE ratio of 16.14, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $239.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $207.01.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.91. The business had revenue of $34.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 3.36%.Marathon Petroleum's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.24) EPS. On average, analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 29.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,810 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.78, for a total transaction of $406,851.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,188 shares in the company, valued at $2,290,058.64. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 4,473 shares of company stock worth $1,015,428 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

About Marathon Petroleum

Marathon Petroleum Corporation NYSE: MPC is a U.S.-based downstream energy company engaged principally in the refining, marketing, supply and transportation of petroleum products. The company was formed through a spin-off from Marathon Oil in 2011 and operates an integrated system of refining and logistics assets that support the production and distribution of transportation fuels and other refined petroleum products.

Marathon Petroleum's operations include refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and other specialty products, as well as managing the distribution and storage infrastructure needed to move those products to market.

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