Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Purchases 3,881 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 431,410 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,881 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $70,170,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,849 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,602,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $419,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 18,527 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,013,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $847,000. Finally, Navalign LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $255.16 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $234.57 and a 200-day moving average of $203.45. The firm has a market cap of $74.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.53. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 1-year low of $154.65 and a 1-year high of $261.61.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.91. The company had revenue of $34.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 16.22%. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.24) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 28.83 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MPC shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $243.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $263.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $264.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,626 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.18, for a total transaction of $371,020.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 7,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,717,054.50. This represents a 17.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 4,473 shares of company stock worth $1,015,428 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Company 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.