Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 126,361 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 8,608 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $17,627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 78.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,961,503 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,389,630,000 after acquiring an additional 4,367,774 shares during the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 16,338.3% during the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 4,177,133 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $582,710,000 after purchasing an additional 4,151,722 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $453,427,000. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 37.4% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,436,704 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $480,501,000 after purchasing an additional 935,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $495,595,000 after buying an additional 647,045 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $141.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $169.00 to $147.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $193.00 to $183.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $175.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Evan Bayh bought 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 69,305 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,266,078.50. This trade represents a 1.46% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling purchased 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $134.72 per share, with a total value of $269,440.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at $1,638,464.64. The trade was a 19.68% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:MPC traded up $0.43 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $163.27. 198,262 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,718,171. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $115.10 and a 12-month high of $183.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.87. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $138.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.21.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by $0.16. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm had revenue of $31.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.58 EPS. Marathon Petroleum's revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. 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 will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.20%.

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.