Legal & General Group Plc Has $278.77 Million Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,714,107 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 146,913 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $278,765,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 332.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 320,499 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $52,123,000 after buying an additional 246,384 shares during the period. Merewether Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,548,000. Amundi lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,626,862 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $314,830,000 after acquiring an additional 172,172 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,305,428 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,214,522,000 after acquiring an additional 141,691 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Credit Agricole S A bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at $20,370,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of MPC stock opened at $248.66 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $239.28 and its 200-day moving average is $206.62. The stock has a market cap of $72.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.23, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.53. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 52-week low of $155.93 and a 52-week high of $264.14.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.91. The company 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%. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.24) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 29.67 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

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 $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on MPC. Zacks Research raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $279.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $205.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group set a $285.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,626 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.18, for a total value of $371,020.68. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,717,054.50. This represents a 17.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,473 shares of company stock valued at $1,015,428. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.