Retirement Planning Group LLC NY Purchases Shares of 2,041 Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Retirement Planning Group LLC NY bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,041 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $285,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MPC. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $12,226,000. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. now owns 1,575 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the period. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth about $331,000. Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth about $135,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ricky D. Hessling acquired 2,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $134.72 per share, with a total value of $269,440.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 12,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,638,464.64. The trade was a 19.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Evan Bayh acquired 1,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at $9,266,078.50. The trade was a 1.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MPC shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $169.00 to $147.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $175.29.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $158.97. The company had a trading volume of 755,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,698,457. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a market capitalization of $48.84 billion, a PE ratio of 16.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.87. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $115.10 and a twelve month high of $183.31. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $142.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.17.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.24) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $31.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $28.91 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.58 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is presently 51.20%.

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.