United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Key Points

• United Capital Financial Advisors acquired 15,593 Marathon Petroleum shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $3.99 million. Institutional investors collectively own 76.77% of MPC.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 12 Buy ratings and six Holds; the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $312.50.
• Marathon Petroleum reported quarterly EPS of $17.73, beating estimates of $14.27, while revenue rose 53.5% year over year to $51.99 billion. The company declared a $1.00 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 1.1% yield.

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 15,593 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $3,987,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Energy Income Partners LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth $4,912,000. Evolve Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter valued at about $673,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 31.0% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 213,545 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $52,146,000 after purchasing an additional 50,521 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 570.7% during the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 168,644 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $41,180,000 after purchasing an additional 143,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth about $1,714,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MPC shares. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Zacks Research lowered Marathon Petroleum from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $224.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $312.50.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Molly R. Benson sold 17,196 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.57, for a total value of $6,165,969.72. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,334 shares in the company, valued at $10,876,862.38. The trade was a 36.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Shawn M. Lyon sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $875,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 12,619 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,416,650. This trade represents a 16.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 26,032 shares of company stock valued at $8,744,213. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC stock opened at $369.00 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 1 year low of $161.93 and a 1 year high of $369.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.73 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $308.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $260.20.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $17.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $14.27 by $3.46. The firm had revenue of $51.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.87 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 31.96% and a net margin of 5.48%.The firm's revenue was up 53.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.96 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 46.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is presently 13.75%.

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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