Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC Stock Position Reduced by Gabelli Funds LLC

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC reduced its Marathon Petroleum stake by 6.9% in the first quarter, selling 15,900 shares and leaving it with 215,000 shares valued at about $52.5 million.
• Analysts remain constructive on MPC, with 11 Buy ratings and 7 Hold ratings; the consensus rating is Moderate Buy and the average price target is $298.69, while several firms recently raised their targets.
• Marathon Petroleum posted strong quarterly results and pays a dividend, reporting EPS of $1.65 versus the $0.74 estimate and revenue of $34.2 billion, while declaring a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share for a 1.3% annualized yield.

Gabelli Funds LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 6.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 215,000 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 15,900 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC owned 0.07% of Marathon Petroleum worth $52,499,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Equitable Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 2,637 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,548 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,411,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 3,220 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $786,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.6% in the fourth 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. Finally, IFG Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 3,429 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $558,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MPC. Bank of America boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $224.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $257.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $233.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $257.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $224.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $298.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $1,703,243.52. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly 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 at this link. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of MPC opened at $309.14 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $90.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.52. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 12 month low of $158.00 and a 12 month high of $326.92. The stock's 50 day moving average is $268.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.62. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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 the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.24) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 40.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

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

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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