First Trust Advisors LP Raises Position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP more than doubled its stake in Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter, increasing its holdings by 112.7% to 276,483 shares valued at about $67.5 million.
• Marathon Petroleum reported a strong quarterly earnings beat, with EPS of $1.65 versus the $0.74 estimate and revenue of $34.2 billion, up 8.5% year over year.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 1.3%, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with an average target price of $298.69.

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 112.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 276,483 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 146,512 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.09% of Marathon Petroleum worth $67,512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. ABN Amro Investment Solutions lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 17,111 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $4,178,000 after buying an additional 1,726 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 344,132 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $84,030,000 after acquiring an additional 5,320 shares during the last quarter. Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at about $379,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 31.0% in the 1st quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 477 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter valued at about $106,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MPC shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $343.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $224.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $257.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $298.69.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total value of $1,703,243.52. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 16,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,543,058. This represents a 27.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 1.0%

MPC stock opened at $309.14 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.25 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.52. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a twelve month low of $158.00 and a twelve month high of $326.92. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $268.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.62.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.91. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 3.36%.The firm had revenue of $34.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.24) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 43.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is 26.11%.

Marathon Petroleum Profile

Marathon Petroleum Corporation NYSE: MPC is a U.S.-based downstream energy company engaged principally in the refining, marketing, supply and transportation of petroleum products. The company was formed through a spin-off from Marathon Oil in 2011 and operates an integrated system of refining and logistics assets that support the production and distribution of transportation fuels and other refined petroleum products.

Marathon Petroleum's operations include refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and other specialty products, as well as managing the distribution and storage infrastructure needed to move those products to market.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.