Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 134,952 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group reduced its Marathon Petroleum stake by 8.2% in the first quarter, selling 134,952 shares and ending with 1,519,520 shares valued at about $371 million.
• Marathon Petroleum reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.65 versus $0.74 expected and revenue of $34.2 billion, up 8.5% from a year earlier.
• The company continues to return cash to shareholders, paying a $1.00 quarterly dividend that annualizes to $4.00 per share for a 1.3% yield, while analysts still hold a Moderate Buy view on the stock.

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 8.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,519,520 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 134,952 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.52% of Marathon Petroleum worth $371,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MPC. Navalign LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:MPC opened at $296.89 on Tuesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $257.78 and its 200 day moving average is $223.82. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $158.00 and a fifty-two week high of $299.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.38, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.91. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The company had revenue of $34.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.24) earnings per share. Marathon Petroleum's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 32.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is 26.11%.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total value of $1,703,243.52. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 16,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,543,058. This represents a 27.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MPC shares. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 29th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $197.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $321.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $224.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $280.69.

Marathon Petroleum Company 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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