Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Lowers Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Key Points

• Nomura Asset Management cut its Marathon Petroleum stake by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 8,722 shares and leaving it with 121,838 shares valued at about $19.8 million.
• Marathon Petroleum recently posted strong first-quarter results, with EPS of $1.65 beating estimates by a wide margin and revenue of $34.2 billion coming in above expectations.
• Analysts remain generally upbeat on MPC: several firms raised price targets, and the stock currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $268.50.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. decreased its position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 121,838 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 8,722 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $19,815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted 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 valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 3,429 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $558,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 2,630 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,287 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,673,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Bridge LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Bridge LLC now owns 523 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Marathon Petroleum

Here are the key news stories impacting Marathon Petroleum this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks named Marathon Petroleum one of its top-ranked growth stocks for June 1, putting MPC on a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) list. Best Growth Stocks to Buy for June 1st
• Positive Sentiment: Another Zacks feature highlighted MPC as a stock that could beat earnings in its upcoming report, reinforcing expectations for a favorable fundamental setup. Looking for Earnings Beat? Buy These 5 Top-Ranked Stocks
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary also described Wall Street sentiment as optimistic, with Marathon Petroleum’s average brokerage recommendation effectively at Buy. Is Marathon Petroleum (MPC) a Buy as Wall Street Analysts Look Optimistic?
• Positive Sentiment: Energy-sector outlook articles also listed MPC among oil stocks that could benefit from tighter supply and renewed strength in crude markets after Iran-U.S. peace talks collapsed. Oil Stocks Look Poised for Another Leg Higher
• Neutral Sentiment: Several roundup articles mentioned MPC alongside other energy names, but did not introduce any company-specific catalyst beyond broad sector positioning.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,810 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.78, for a total transaction of $406,851.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,290,058.64. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,473 shares of company stock worth $1,015,428. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MPC. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $264.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research raised Marathon Petroleum from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $268.50.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE MPC opened at $258.73 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $240.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $208.19. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 1 year low of $155.93 and a 1 year high of $264.14. The company has a market cap of $75.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.89, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.52.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.91. The company had revenue of $34.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 3.36%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.24) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 30.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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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