Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 24.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,379 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 3,979 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MPC. Cambridge Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,624,000. Good Steward Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter worth about $346,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $1,192,000. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter worth about $339,000. Finally, Financial Partners Group LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 65.8% in the first quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 3,937 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $574,000 after buying an additional 1,563 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MPC traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $174.34. 2,623,698 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,711,565. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $166.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $151.21. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a one year low of $115.10 and a one year high of $183.31. The company has a market cap of $53.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.88.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $31.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.91 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 8.89%. Marathon Petroleum's revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.58 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is currently 51.20%.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 7,392 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,315,200. The trade was a 28.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $183.43.

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.