Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Grows Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 10.5% during the first quarter, owning 38,489 shares worth approximately $5.6 million.
• Analysts have recently set new price targets for Marathon Petroleum, with UBS raising theirs to $203.00 and eight analysts giving the stock a "Buy" rating.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.0%, reflecting a dividend payout ratio of 54.01%.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 10.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,489 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,649 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $5,607,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,655 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $928,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Sunpointe LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 5.1% during the first quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 2.3% during the first quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 3,801 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $554,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Southland Equity Partners LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 6.2% in the first quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudent Man Advisors LLC grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Prudent Man Advisors LLC now owns 4,056 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $1,293,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 18,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,315,200. This represents a 28.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Molly R. Benson sold 10,879 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total transaction of $1,773,277.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 28,700 shares in the company, valued at $4,678,100. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

MPC traded up $0.49 on Friday, hitting $179.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,753,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,843,214. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 12 month low of $115.10 and a 12 month high of $183.10. The firm has a market cap of $54.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $170.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.34.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.12 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is 54.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $182.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $185.29.

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.