Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC Shares Purchased by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Asset Management increased its Marathon Petroleum stake by 483.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 14,715 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 17,759 shares valued at about $2.89 million.
• Marathon Petroleum’s latest earnings beat expectations, with quarterly EPS of $1.65 versus the $0.74 estimate and revenue of $34.2 billion, up 8.5% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus, with a target price of $259.44, and the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 483.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,759 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 14,715 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,888,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,050 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 2,630 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $428,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,287 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,673,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Bridge LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Bridge LLC now owns 523 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,116 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,320,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $197.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Marathon Petroleum from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $264.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $263.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $259.44.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 2.7%

NYSE:MPC opened at $255.22 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $238.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $205.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 12 month low of $155.93 and a 12 month high of $264.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.51 billion, a PE ratio of 16.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.53.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.91. The firm had revenue of $34.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 3.36%.Marathon Petroleum's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.24) EPS. Research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 29.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be given 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 26.11%.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $224.78, for a total transaction of $406,851.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,473 shares of company stock worth $1,015,428. 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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