Panagora Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Marathon Petroleum Corp by 58.5%, selling 392,696 shares and now holds 278,058 shares valued at approximately $40.5 million.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Marathon Petroleum, with Barclays raising its target price from $159 to $189 and eight analysts giving a Buy rating while eight offered a Hold rating.
• Marathon Petroleum recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.0%, scheduled for payment on September 10th to stockholders of record on August 20th.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 58.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 278,058 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 392,696 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.09% of Marathon Petroleum worth $40,510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $5,090,611,000 after purchasing an additional 3,834,501 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 58.5% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,448,514 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $791,274,000 after acquiring an additional 2,011,810 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,824,177 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,722,664,000 after purchasing an additional 1,862,674 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 14,969.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,540,963 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $224,503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530,737 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at $147,122,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MPC. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price (up previously from $180.00) on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Barclays increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $144.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Marathon Petroleum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $186.57.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC traded down $1.21 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $178.94. The stock had a trading volume of 1,751,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,595,327. The firm has a market cap of $54.40 billion, a PE ratio of 26.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a one year low of $115.10 and a one year high of $183.50. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $171.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.73.

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

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 7,392 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 18,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,315,200. This represents a 28.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Molly R. Benson sold 10,879 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 28,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,678,100. The trade was a 27.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

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.