Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC Shares Sold by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Sterling Capital Management reduced its Marathon Petroleum stake by 10.6% in the first quarter, selling 5,205 shares and leaving it with 43,845 shares valued at about $10.7 million.
• Marathon Petroleum reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.65 versus the $0.74 consensus and revenue of $34.2 billion, up 8.5% year over year.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, equal to a $4.00 annualized payout and a 1.6% yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $272.94.

Sterling Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 10.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,845 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 5,205 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $10,706,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Navalign LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total value of $1,703,243.52. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 16,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,543,058. This trade represents a 27.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MPC. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $197.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $233.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $272.94.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $253.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $74.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $247.79 and a 200-day moving average of $216.35. 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 Corporation has a 52 week low of $158.00 and a 52 week high of $272.46.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 3.36%.The business had revenue of $34.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.24) EPS. The business's revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 31.35 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

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

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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