Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 64,849 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation by 12.6%, acquiring an additional 64,849 shares, bringing its total ownership to 578,641 shares valued at approximately $84.3 million.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic about Marathon Petroleum, with Citigroup, UBS, and Wells Fargo raising their target prices to between $182.00 and $205.00, while the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold."
• Marathon Petroleum declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, set to be paid on September 10th, with an annualized yield of 2.3%.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 12.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 578,641 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 64,849 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.19% of Marathon Petroleum worth $84,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MPC. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1,546.2% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 214 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1,621.4% during the 1st quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 241 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on MPC. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. 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 note on Tuesday, July 15th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $182.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. One investment 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 data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $185.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 7,392 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,315,200. This represents a 28.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPC traded down $0.56 during trading on Friday, reaching $160.95. 1,278,171 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,807,968. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $48.93 billion, a PE ratio of 23.88, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $169.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.73. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 12 month low of $115.10 and a 12 month high of $183.10.

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

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is presently 54.01%.

Marathon Petroleum 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.