Russell Investments Group Ltd. Cuts Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC)

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. sold 11.4% of its stake in Marathon Petroleum, bringing its holdings to 254,090 shares valued at approximately $37 million.
• Vanguard Group increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 12.3%, owning nearly 35 million shares worth over $5 billion as of the end of the first quarter.
• Marathon Petroleum's stock has a consensus price target of $185.29 and received varying ratings from analysts, including several upgrades leading to increased target prices.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 11.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 254,090 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 32,625 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.08% of Marathon Petroleum worth $36,992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,941,391 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $5,090,611,000 after buying an additional 3,834,501 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,982,348 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $725,878,000 after buying an additional 178,397 shares during the period. Demars Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 4,713,595 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $686,724,000 after buying an additional 536,462 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,399,977 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $613,624,000 after buying an additional 452,043 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,937,348 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $549,260,000 after buying an additional 484,438 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 7,392 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,293,600.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock traded up $0.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $162.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,831,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,747,931. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.04. The company has a market capitalization of $49.38 billion, a PE ratio of 24.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.90. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 52 week low of $115.10 and a 52 week high of $183.10.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $3.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.74. The company had revenue of $34.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.70 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 1.58% and a return on equity of 8.38%. Marathon Petroleum's quarterly revenue was down 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.12 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price (up from $180.00) on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $185.29.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

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.