ABC Arbitrage SA Makes New Investment in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 30,603 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,977,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 721.4% during the fourth quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 230 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC stock opened at $252.22 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $231.29 and its 200 day moving average is $201.89. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 1-year low of $154.65 and a 1-year high of $261.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $73.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.46, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.53.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.91. The business had revenue of $34.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.24) EPS. Research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 28.83 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 Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 26.11%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,810 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.78, for a total transaction of $406,851.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,290,058.64. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 4,473 shares of company stock worth $1,015,428 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MPC shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $264.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $257.25.

Marathon Petroleum Profile

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: MPC) is a U.S.-based downstream energy company engaged principally in the refining, marketing, supply and transportation of petroleum products. The company was formed through a spin-off from Marathon Oil in 2011 and operates an integrated system of refining and logistics assets that support the production and distribution of transportation fuels and other refined petroleum products.

Marathon Petroleum’s operations include refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and other specialty products, as well as managing the distribution and storage infrastructure needed to move those products to market.