Sonora Investment Management Group LLC Makes New Investment in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Key Points

• Sonora Investment Management Group LLC has acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation, purchasing 2,034 shares valued at approximately $338,000.
• Several hedge funds have increased their holdings in Marathon Petroleum, with notable increases including GAMMA Investing LLC's stake rising by 14,969.1%.
• Analysts have boosted target prices for Marathon Petroleum, with Evercore ISI raising their target from $170 to $210, indicating a positive outlook for the stock.

Sonora Investment Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,034 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $338,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 12.5% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,210 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $176,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 44.0% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,064 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $155,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 14,969.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,540,963 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $224,503,000 after buying an additional 1,530,737 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 12.6% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,995 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,456,000 after buying an additional 1,121 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $170.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $184.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $182.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $195.00.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $198.85 on Monday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $175.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $160.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market cap of $60.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.97. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $115.10 and a fifty-two week high of $201.61.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $3.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.74. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 1.58% and a return on equity of 8.38%. The firm had revenue of $34.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $31.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.12 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 7,392 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,315,200. The trade was a 28.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Molly R. Benson sold 10,879 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total transaction of $1,773,277.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 28,700 shares in the company, valued at $4,678,100. The trade was a 27.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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