Prudential PLC Sells 5,332 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC)

Key Points

• Prudential PLC has reduced its stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation by 50%, selling 5,332 shares and now holding a total of 5,322 shares valued at approximately $775,000.
• During the first quarter, several institutional investors significantly increased their holdings in Marathon Petroleum, with Vanguard Group Inc. lifting its stake by 12.3% and GAMMA Investing LLC raising its position by an astounding 14,969.1%.
• Marathon Petroleum announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, equating to an annualized dividend yield of 2.2%, and is expected to report earnings of $8.47 per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential PLC reduced its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 50.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,322 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 5,332 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $775,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MPC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 3,834,501 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 14,969.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at $147,122,000. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at $81,318,000. Finally, Demars Financial Group LLC raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 4,713,595 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $686,724,000 after purchasing an additional 536,462 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of MPC stock opened at $162.41 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 1-year low of $115.10 and a 1-year high of $183.10. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $169.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $49.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.90.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $3.96 earnings per share 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $4.12 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is 54.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Marathon Petroleum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price target (up from $180.00) on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $185.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 7,392 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,315,200. The trade was a 28.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% 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.

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