Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC Shares Sold by Candriam S.C.A.

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. reduced its stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation ($MPC) by 9.4%, bringing its holdings down to 25,087 shares valued at approximately $3.65 million.
• Several other institutional investors increased their holdings in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter, with Brighton Jones LLC and Dark Forest Capital Management LP showing significant increases of 30.9% and 55.6%, respectively.
• Marathon Petroleum recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.1%, with a payout ratio of 54.01%.

Candriam S.C.A. trimmed its stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 9.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,087 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 2,590 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $3,655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,941,391 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,090,611,000 after acquiring an additional 3,834,501 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 58.5% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,448,514 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $791,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,011,810 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 18.7% in the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 1,862,674 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 14,969.1% in the 1st 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth $147,122,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MPC. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $182.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen raised Marathon Petroleum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $144.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $185.29.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE MPC traded up $4.27 on Wednesday, reaching $177.78. 1,812,893 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,607,089. The firm has a market cap of $54.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $169.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $154.84. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $115.10 and a fifty-two week high of $183.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.23.

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

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, insider Molly R. Benson sold 10,879 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider owned 28,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,678,100. This trade represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 7,392 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $1,293,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 18,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,315,200. This represents a 28.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.