Korea Investment CORP Reduces Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP has reduced its stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation by 2.9%, now holding 249,601 shares valued at approximately $36.36 million.
• Insider activity has been noted, with Molly R. Benson selling 10,879 shares and Kim K.W. Rucker selling 7,392 shares, each reflecting significant decreases in their ownership.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Marathon Petroleum, with Mizuho setting a new target at $184.00 and UBS Group at $203.00, indicating a positive outlook for the company's stock.

Korea Investment CORP lowered its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 249,601 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 7,327 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.08% of Marathon Petroleum worth $36,364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.8% during the first quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 179,175 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $26,104,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 6.3% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 6,037,532 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $879,608,000 after purchasing an additional 355,215 shares in the last quarter. Oder Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter worth $805,000. United Capital Management of KS Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 6.3% during the first quarter. United Capital Management of KS Inc. now owns 44,117 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $6,427,000 after purchasing an additional 2,627 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 18.9% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 338,863 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $49,369,000 after purchasing an additional 53,755 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Molly R. Benson sold 10,879 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total transaction of $1,773,277.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 28,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,678,100. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 7,392 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,293,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,315,200. This trade represents a 28.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC traded up $1.5350 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $172.4150. 363,812 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,606,676. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $52.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.90. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $115.10 and a fifty-two week high of $183.10. The business's 50 day moving average is $169.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.56.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $3.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.74. The firm 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 revenue was down 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.12 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is 54.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (up previously from $180.00) on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. 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. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Marathon Petroleum from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $185.29.

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.