J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Raises Stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 233.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,845 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,889 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,434,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in 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 worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178 shares during the last quarter. GHE LLC raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 38,572 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,381,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth $234,000. Summit Global Investments raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 115.6% during the 4th quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 2,969 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $414,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Congress Wealth Management LLC DE bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth $360,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on MPC shares. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wolfe Research downgraded Marathon Petroleum from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $144.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $183.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 7,392 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $1,293,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,315,200. This represents a 28.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC traded up $1.23 during trading on Friday, hitting $172.54. The company had a trading volume of 786,243 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,750,229. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $152.15. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $115.10 and a fifty-two week high of $183.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.24) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.40) by $0.16. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 8.89%. The firm had revenue of $31.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $28.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.58 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st were given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.20%.

About Marathon Petroleum

Marathon Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated downstream energy company primarily in the United States. The company operates through Refining & Marketing, and Midstream segments. The Refining & Marketing segment refines crude oil and other feedstocks at its refineries in the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent, and West Coast regions of the United States; and purchases refined products and ethanol for resale and distributes refined products, including renewable diesel, through transportation, storage, distribution, and marketing services.