Ghe LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Key Points

• Ghe LLC sharply increased its Marathon Petroleum stake by 1,939.8% in the first quarter, ending with 649,542 shares worth about $158.6 million. Marathon Petroleum now makes up roughly 33.6% of Ghe LLC’s portfolio.
• Marathon Petroleum beat quarterly expectations, reporting earnings per share of $1.65 versus the $0.74 estimate and revenue of $34.20 billion versus $33.42 billion expected. Revenue rose 8.5% from a year earlier.
• The company also returned cash to shareholders with a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, or $4.00 annualized, for a yield of about 1.4%. Analysts currently have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $277.31.

Ghe LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 1,939.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 649,542 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 617,699 shares during the quarter. Marathon Petroleum comprises approximately 33.6% of Ghe LLC's holdings, making the stock its largest position. Ghe LLC owned about 0.22% of Marathon Petroleum worth $158,605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $696,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 38.3% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,697 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,889,000 after purchasing an additional 7,396 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 26.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,221 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth about $8,505,000. Finally, AXA S.A. raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 46.7% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 39,675 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $6,590,000 after buying an additional 12,639 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total value of $1,703,243.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 16,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,543,058. The trade was a 27.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $283.60 on Monday. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 12-month low of $158.00 and a 12-month high of $287.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $256.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $222.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.91. The firm had revenue of $34.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.42 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.24) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 32.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $243.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $321.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $197.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $277.31.

Marathon Petroleum Company 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.

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