Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Purchases 9,342 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 248,892 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 9,342 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned about 0.08% of Marathon Petroleum worth $34,720,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 4,367,774 shares in the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $453,427,000. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 37.4% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,436,704 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $480,501,000 after buying an additional 935,042 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $495,595,000 after buying an additional 647,045 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE MPC traded down $1.41 on Friday, hitting $163.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,123,795 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,711,450. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $115.10 and a 52-week high of $183.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $139.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $145.43. The firm has a market cap of $50.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.50, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.87.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by $0.16. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The firm had revenue of $31.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.58 EPS. The business's revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank decreased their price target on 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. Barclays upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $141.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $193.00 to $183.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $175.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Evan Bayh purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at $9,266,078.50. This trade represents a 1.46% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 12,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. This represents a 19.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

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.