Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Reduces Stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. significantly reduced its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 98.4%, dropping from 478,312 shares to just 7,827 shares during the 2nd quarter.
• Marathon Petroleum's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $3.96, surpassing analyst expectations, despite an 11.1% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• Analysts have raised their target prices for Marathon Petroleum, with UBS Group setting a new target at $220.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 98.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,827 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 470,485 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Good Steward Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at $346,000. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth about $339,000. Financial Partners Group LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 65.8% in the first quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 3,937 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $574,000 after purchasing an additional 1,563 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 8.0% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 44,387 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $6,467,000 after purchasing an additional 3,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 128.0% during the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 8,663 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,262,000 after buying an additional 4,863 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $198.85 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $60.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.97. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 52 week low of $115.10 and a 52 week high of $201.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $175.09 and a 200 day moving average of $160.37.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $3.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.74. The business had revenue of $34.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.70 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 1.58%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.12 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Molly R. Benson sold 10,879 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total transaction of $1,773,277.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 28,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,678,100. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 7,392 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,293,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,315,200. The trade was a 28.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $193.71.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.