LSV Asset Management Sells 9,706 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Key Points

• LSV Asset Management trimmed its Marathon Petroleum stake by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 9,706 shares and leaving it with 1,329,864 shares valued at about $216.3 million.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on MPC, with several firms raising price targets; the stock carries a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target of $259.44.
• Marathon Petroleum reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting $1.65 EPS versus $0.74 expected and revenue of $34.2 billion, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share.

LSV Asset Management decreased its stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,329,864 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 9,706 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned 0.44% of Marathon Petroleum worth $216,276,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Navalign LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $257.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $264.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum to $335.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $263.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $259.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.78, for a total transaction of $406,851.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,188 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,290,058.64. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 4,473 shares of company stock worth $1,015,428 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $255.22 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $238.34 and a 200 day moving average of $205.61. The stock has a market cap of $74.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.53. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 12 month low of $155.93 and a 12 month high of $264.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.73 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.91. The company had revenue of $34.20 billion during 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%. Marathon Petroleum's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.24) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 29.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is currently 26.11%.

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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