Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC Shares Sold by Comerica Bank

Key Points

• Comerica Bank sold 5,659 shares of Marathon Petroleum, reducing its stake by 6.0%, leaving it with 88,388 shares valued at approximately $12.88 million.
• Marathon Petroleum reported $3.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $3.22, and had revenues of $34.10 billion.
• Numerous analysts have jumped on board with optimistic projections for Marathon Petroleum, with several raising their price targets, including UBS Group increasing it from $175.00 to $203.00.

Comerica Bank lowered its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 6.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,388 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 5,659 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $12,877,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 12.3% during the 1st 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 buying an additional 3,834,501 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,011,810 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 1,862,674 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 1,530,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter worth $147,122,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MPC shares. TD Cowen decreased their target price 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. UBS Group lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $185.29.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of MPC traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $179.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,753,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,843,214. The stock has a market cap of $54.66 billion, a PE ratio of 26.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.90. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 1-year low of $115.10 and a 1-year high of $183.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $170.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $3.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $34.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarter last year, the company posted $4.12 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Molly R. Benson sold 10,879 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total value of $1,773,277.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 28,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,678,100. The trade was a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,293,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,315,200. This represents a 28.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

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.