Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp Sells 1,500 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Key Points

• Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp has reduced its stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation by 46% in the second quarter, now holding 1,758 shares valued at approximately $292,000.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes in Marathon Petroleum, with Activest Wealth Management boosting its holdings by 290.2% in Q2.
• Marathon Petroleum's latest quarterly earnings reported $3.96 earnings per share, surpassing estimates, although revenue declined by 11.1% year-over-year.

Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp reduced its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 46.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,758 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 1,500 shares during the period. Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $292,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 290.2% during the 2nd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 160 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1,546.2% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 214 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1,621.4% in the first quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 241 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MPC. Dbs Bank raised Marathon Petroleum to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $170.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Citigroup upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $144.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Bank of America upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $184.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $200.31.

Insider Activity

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Molly R. Benson sold 10,879 shares of the 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 sale, the insider owned 28,700 shares in the company, valued at $4,678,100. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $184.14 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $164.88. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 1-year low of $115.10 and a 1-year high of $201.61. The firm has a market cap of $55.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $3.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.74. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 1.58%.The business had revenue of $34.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.12 earnings per share. Marathon Petroleum's revenue was down 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.01%.

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.

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