Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Raises Stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 95.2%, owning 62,023 shares valued at approximately $9.04 million after acquiring an additional 30,245 shares.
• Analysts are optimistic about Marathon Petroleum, with multiple brokerages raising their price targets, including Wells Fargo boosting it from $182 to $205 while maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• Marathon Petroleum announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, representing a 2.2% yield, with an upcoming pay date of September 10 for investors on record by August 20.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 95.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,023 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 30,245 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $9,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,655 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $928,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Sunpointe LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 5.1% in the first quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 3,801 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $554,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Southland Equity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudent Man Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.3% during the first quarter. Prudent Man Advisors LLC now owns 4,056 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $591,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Molly R. Benson sold 10,879 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total value of $1,773,277.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 28,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,678,100. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 7,392 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 $3,315,200. The trade was a 28.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on MPC shares. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $144.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Mizuho upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $182.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $185.29.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of MPC stock traded down $1.5850 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $164.2350. The company had a trading volume of 318,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,620,334. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $49.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.34. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 12 month low of $115.10 and a 12 month high of $183.10.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $34.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.70 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 1.58%.Marathon Petroleum's revenue was down 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.12 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business 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 2.2%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.01%.

Marathon Petroleum 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.