Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC Shares Sold by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Securian Asset Management reduced its Marathon Petroleum stake by 44.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 6,491 shares and leaving it with 8,173 shares worth about $1.33 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains upbeat: multiple analysts raised price targets, and the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average target of $257.25 per share.
• Marathon Petroleum reported strong Q1 earnings of $1.65 per share versus $0.74 expected, with revenue of $34.2 billion, and it announced a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share.

Securian Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 44.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,173 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 6,491 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MPC. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $696,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 38.3% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,697 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,889,000 after acquiring an additional 7,396 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 26.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,221 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,505,000. Finally, AXA S.A. grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 46.7% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 39,675 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $6,590,000 after acquiring an additional 12,639 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $263.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $243.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $257.25.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.2%

MPC opened at $252.08 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $232.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $202.34. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 1-year low of $154.65 and a 1-year high of $261.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.53.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.91. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The business had revenue of $34.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.24) EPS. The business's revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 28.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,810 shares of the firm'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 value of $406,851.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,188 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,290,058.64. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,473 shares of company stock valued at $1,015,428. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum 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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