Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 17.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,883 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 3,174 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,420,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 2,630 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $428,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,287 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,673,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Bridge LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Bridge LLC now owns 523 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,116 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,320,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $248.66 on Wednesday. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 12-month low of $155.93 and a 12-month high of $264.14. The company has a market capitalization of $72.59 billion, a PE ratio of 16.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.53. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $239.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $206.62.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.91. The company had revenue of $34.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.24) earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 29.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $279.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $257.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $243.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.78, for a total transaction of $406,851.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,290,058.64. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 4,473 shares of company stock worth $1,015,428 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.