Polaris Capital Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Key Points

• Polaris Capital trimmed its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 15.6% in Q4, selling 30,400 shares and ending the period with 163,932 shares (~$26.66M), which is about 2.2% of Polaris’s portfolio and its 22nd largest holding.
• Marathon beat expectations for the quarter with EPS of $4.07 (vs. $3.73 expected) and revenue of $32.57B, and several analysts have raised price targets (average target ≈ $241.81), lifting the stock outlook.
• Insiders sold a total of 4,473 shares (~$1.02M) over the last quarter, including Ricky D. Hessling’s sale of 1,626 shares at an average price of $228.18, leaving insiders owning about 0.17% of the company.

Polaris Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 15.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 163,932 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 30,400 shares during the period. Marathon Petroleum makes up about 2.2% of Polaris Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Polaris Capital Management LLC owned 0.05% of Marathon Petroleum worth $26,660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 721.4% in the 4th quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 230 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,626 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.18, for a total value of $371,020.68. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,525 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,717,054.50. The trade was a 17.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 4,473 shares of company stock valued at $1,015,428 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE:MPC opened at $224.19 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $222.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $197.96. The stock has a market cap of $66.02 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.58. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 52 week low of $133.00 and a 52 week high of $255.77.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $4.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.34. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 2.99%.The firm had revenue of $32.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $30.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 23.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is 29.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $263.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $239.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $241.81.

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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