Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Key Points

• Verdence Capital Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation by 24.7%, selling 3,060 shares during the second quarter and retaining a total of 9,319 shares valued at $1,548,000.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic about Marathon Petroleum, with multiple brokerages raising their price targets, including Wells Fargo increasing it from $182.00 to $205.00, indicating a strong market confidence.
• Marathon Petroleum recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91, representing a 2.0% yield, with the dividend payout ratio currently at 54.01%.

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 24.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,319 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 3,060 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MPC. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,577 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,541,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 110,599 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $16,113,000 after purchasing an additional 2,539 shares during the last quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $382,000. Finally, Northstar Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $221,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on MPC. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Dbs Bank raised Marathon Petroleum to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $184.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $195.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.31.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $183.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.20, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $179.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $163.99. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 52 week low of $115.10 and a 52 week high of $201.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

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

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Molly R. Benson sold 10,879 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total value of $1,773,277.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 28,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,678,100. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Company 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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