Empyrean Capital Partners LP Acquires Shares of 520,500 Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Key Points

• Empyrean Capital Partners LP has made a new investment of approximately $75.83 million in Marathon Petroleum Corporation, purchasing 520,500 shares, which now constitutes 2.7% of their portfolio.
• Marathon Petroleum recently reported $3.96 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with total revenues of $34.10 billion.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $3.64 and a yield of 2.0%.

Empyrean Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 520,500 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $75,832,000. Marathon Petroleum makes up approximately 2.7% of Empyrean Capital Partners LP's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Empyrean Capital Partners LP owned 0.17% of Marathon Petroleum as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MPC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 12.3% during the first 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 increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 58.5% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,448,514 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $791,274,000 after buying an additional 2,011,810 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,722,664,000 after buying an additional 1,862,674 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $224,503,000 after buying an additional 1,530,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at $147,122,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:MPC traded up $1.27 during trading on Friday, hitting $180.25. 1,696,253 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,719,427. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 52 week low of $115.10 and a 52 week high of $183.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $54.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $171.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $156.19.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $3.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $34.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.12 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Dbs Bank upgraded Marathon Petroleum to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $182.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays raised 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. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $186.57.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 7,392 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $1,293,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,315,200. The trade was a 28.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 28,700 shares in the company, valued at $4,678,100. This trade represents a 27.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.