Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 14,316 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 6.1%, acquiring an additional 14,316 shares, bringing its total ownership to 249,079 shares valued at approximately $36.3 million.
• Marathon Petroleum recently announced a $0.91 quarterly dividend, with a payout ratio of 51.20%, scheduled for payment on September 10th.
• Research analysts have varied ratings on Marathon Petroleum, with Wells Fargo raising its price target to $205.00 and a consensus average target of $183.93, indicating a generally positive outlook.

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 6.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 249,079 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,316 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Marathon Petroleum worth $36,288,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. North Star Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter worth approximately $234,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 5.5% during the first quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,888 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,586,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 14.9% during the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 11,251 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 1,460 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Finally, Vestcor Inc grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 77.5% in the first quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 57,274 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $8,344,000 after acquiring an additional 25,012 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 7,392 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,293,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 18,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,315,200. The trade was a 28.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Dbs Bank upgraded Marathon Petroleum to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 target price (up previously from $180.00) on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $183.93.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.1%

MPC stock traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $167.80. The company had a trading volume of 909,208 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,687,874. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 52 week low of $115.10 and a 52 week high of $183.10. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.40. The company has a market capitalization of $51.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.62, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.90.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $3.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.74. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 1.75%. The firm had revenue of $34.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.12 EPS. The company's revenue was down 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.