Sanctuary Advisors LLC Sells 22,438 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Key Points

• Sanctuary Advisors LLC cut its Marathon Petroleum stake by 20% in the first quarter, selling 22,438 shares and ending with 89,481 shares valued at about $21.85 million.
• Marathon Petroleum reported a strong quarter, with earnings of $1.65 per share versus the $0.74 estimate and revenue of $34.2 billion, up 8.5% year over year.
• The company also paid a $1.00 quarterly dividend and has seen mostly positive analyst sentiment, with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $283.56.

Sanctuary Advisors LLC decreased its position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 20.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 89,481 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 22,438 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $21,850,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% in the first quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 2,637 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $644,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 3,220 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $786,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,050 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $333,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 3,429 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $558,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,357 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $709,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total value of $1,703,243.52. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 16,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,543,058. This trade represents a 27.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 1.3%

MPC stock opened at $299.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $259.70 and a 200-day moving average of $225.73. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $158.00 and a fifty-two week high of $304.36.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.91. The business had revenue of $34.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.24) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 34.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $270.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $344.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $224.00 to $260.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $335.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $283.56.

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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