Uptick Partners LLC Increases Position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Key Points

• Uptick Partners LLC increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 31.4% during Q2, now owning 8,784 shares valued at $1.46 million.
• A series of institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Wellington Management, have also significantly boosted their stakes in Marathon Petroleum, reflecting strong institutional interest with 76.77% of the company owned by such investors.
• Recent analyst ratings indicate a positive outlook for Marathon Petroleum, with upgraded price targets suggesting potential growth, including an increase from Morgan Stanley from $182 to $200.

Uptick Partners LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 31.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,784 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,101 shares during the quarter. Uptick Partners LLC's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,459,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MPC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 3,834,501 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,824,177 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,722,664,000 after acquiring an additional 1,862,674 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 6.3% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 6,037,532 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $879,608,000 after purchasing an additional 355,215 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 58.5% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,448,514 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $791,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,011,810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 3.7% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,982,348 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $725,878,000 after purchasing an additional 178,397 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Dbs Bank raised shares of Marathon Petroleum to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $195.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $184.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.31.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE MPC opened at $183.23 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $179.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.12. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a one year low of $115.10 and a one year high of $201.61. 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 firm has a market cap of $55.71 billion, a PE ratio of 27.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 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. The business had revenue of $34.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.70 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 1.58% and a return on equity of 8.38%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.12 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is presently 54.01%.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Molly R. Benson sold 10,879 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total value of $1,773,277.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 28,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,678,100. The trade was a 27.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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