Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Sells 4,075 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Key Points

• Kornitzer Capital Management cut its Marathon Petroleum stake by 8.5% in the first quarter, selling 4,075 shares and leaving it with 43,756 shares valued at about $10.7 million.
• Marathon Petroleum reported strong quarterly results, posting $1.65 EPS versus the $0.74 consensus and revenue of $34.2 billion, topping analyst expectations.
• The company also paid a $1.00 quarterly dividend and has seen upbeat Wall Street sentiment, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $274.88.

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS trimmed its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 8.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,756 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 4,075 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $10,684,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Navalign LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $283.60. The company had a trading volume of 1,932,314 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,239,416. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $82.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.52. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a twelve month low of $158.00 and a twelve month high of $287.15. The company's 50-day moving average is $256.82 and its 200-day moving average is $222.50.

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 EPS 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 business had revenue of $34.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.24) EPS. Marathon Petroleum's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 32.96 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is currently 26.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $224.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Mizuho upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $224.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $279.00 to $296.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $264.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $274.88.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 16,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,543,058. This represents a 27.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

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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