EP Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases New Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 22,038 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,634,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,648,958,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,934,327 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,916,660,000 after purchasing an additional 47,896 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.3% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,305,428 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,214,522,000 after purchasing an additional 141,691 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter worth $1,029,611,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at about $472,312,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, SVP Shawn M. Lyon sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $875,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 12,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,416,650. This represents a 16.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total value of $1,703,243.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 16,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,543,058. This represents a 27.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 1.1%

MPC opened at $362.18 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $105.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45, a PEG ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company’s 50 day moving average is $297.25 and its 200-day moving average is $254.23. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 1-year low of $161.93 and a 1-year high of $367.60.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $17.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $14.27 by $3.46. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 31.96%. The business had revenue of $51.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.96 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 53.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 46.66 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 Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MPC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $257.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $357.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $289.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $335.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $284.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $312.50.

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.