The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $37.01 Million Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 265,296 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 2,281 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.08% of Marathon Petroleum worth $37,009,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 762.9% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 302 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 2.8 %

NYSE MPC traded up $3.81 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $141.53. 1,944,487 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,692,726. The company has a 50 day moving average of $137.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $145.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.09 billion, a PE ratio of 14.25, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.04. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $115.10 and a 12 month high of $184.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.98 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MPC shares. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $169.00 to $147.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James dropped their price objective 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. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $161.00 to $141.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Ricky D. Hessling acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. This represents a 19.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Evan Bayh bought 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.