Leuthold Group LLC Makes New $8.98 Million Investment in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Key Points

• Leuthold Group initiated a position in Marathon Petroleum, buying 22,707 shares worth approximately $8.98 million in the third quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 76.77% of the company.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $425.12; recent targets include TD Cowen’s $478 and Morgan Stanley’s $458.
• Marathon Petroleum reported quarterly EPS of $26.93, beating estimates of $25.37, while revenue rose 57.6% year over year to $56.03 billion. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share.

Leuthold Group LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 22,707 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $8,979,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 96,518.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 10,628 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $4,166,000 after purchasing an additional 10,617 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 8.0% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 23,500 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $9,873,000 after buying an additional 1,747 shares in the last quarter. Burton Enright Welch purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $214,000. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.3% in the third quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,173 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,045,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 82.5% in the third quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 1,703 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $673,000 after buying an additional 770 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MPC. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $350.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Evercore set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $453.00 to $458.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $450.00 to $478.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $410.00 to $426.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $425.12.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Erin M. Brzezinski sold 570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $362.79, for a total transaction of $206,790.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 1,576 shares in the company, valued at $571,757.04. This trade represents a 26.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Shawn Lyon sold 2,500 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $875,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 12,619 shares in the company, valued at $4,416,650. This trade represents a 16.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 21,691 shares of company stock worth $7,780,127 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $389.91 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $422.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $296.41. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $161.93 and a fifty-two week high of $493.98. The firm has a market cap of $106.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.10 and a beta of 0.53.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $26.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $25.37 by $1.56. The company had revenue of $56.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $46.60 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 8.27% and a return on equity of 55.82%. Marathon Petroleum's quarterly revenue was up 57.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.01 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 66.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 18th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is 13.75%.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

Marathon Petroleum Corporation is an integrated downstream energy company focused on refining, marketing, and transporting petroleum products. Its refineries produce fuels and other products, including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt, and petrochemical feedstocks.

The company sells transportation fuels and related products through a network of branded locations and other wholesale and commercial channels, primarily in the United States. Its midstream operations, conducted largely through its affiliated partnership MPLX, include gathering, processing, and transporting natural gas and natural gas liquids, as well as storing and transporting crude oil and refined products.

Marathon Petroleum was established as an independent company in 2011, when it was spun off from Marathon Oil Corporation.

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