MRP Capital Investments LLC Sells 6,256 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

MRP Capital Investments LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 52.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,565 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 6,256 shares during the period. MRP Capital Investments LLC's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $826,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MPC. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 121,130.8% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,942,426 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $458,859,000 after acquiring an additional 3,939,174 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $453,190,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22,119.1% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,227,468 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $190,449,000 after acquiring an additional 2,217,443 shares in the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at approximately $109,099,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 127.0% during the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,232,706 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $186,536,000 after acquiring an additional 689,576 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC traded down $3.50 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $208.77. 1,986,064 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,885,906. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $104.32 and a 52-week high of $221.11. The company's 50-day moving average price is $186.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.21. The company has a market cap of $75.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.52.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $1.77. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 30.58%. The company had revenue of $36.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.65 EPS. Marathon Petroleum's revenue for the quarter was down 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 17.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MPC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $193.77.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total value of $170,350.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,994,026.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate 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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