Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC Shares Bought by Meeder Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Meeder Asset Management dramatically increased its Marathon Petroleum stake by 3,096.1% in the first quarter, ending with 4,123 shares worth about $1.0 million.
• Marathon Petroleum reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.65 versus the $0.74 estimate and revenue of $34.2 billion, up 8.5% year over year.
• The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, or $4.00 annualized, while Wall Street remains constructive with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average target price of $283.56.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 3,096.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,123 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 3,994 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,007,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Main Street Group LTD acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at $40,000. Navalign LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $316.29 on Tuesday. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $158.00 and a fifty-two week high of $319.36. The company has a market capitalization of $92.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $263.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $228.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.91. The firm had revenue of $34.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.42 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 3.36%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.24) EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 35.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is presently 26.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on MPC shares. Mizuho lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $224.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $270.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $321.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $283.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total transaction of $1,703,243.52. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 16,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,543,058. This represents a 27.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

About Marathon Petroleum

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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