Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC Stock Sold by Private Management Group Inc.

Private Management Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 11.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 40,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 5,000 shares during the quarter. Private Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $15,817,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Solstein Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Main Street Group LTD acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 4.6%

MPC stock opened at $389.91 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $422.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $296.41. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 52 week low of $161.93 and a 52 week high of $493.98. The company has a market cap of $106.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.10 and a beta of 0.53.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $26.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $25.37 by $1.56. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 8.27% and a return on equity of 55.82%. The company had revenue of $56.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $46.60 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.01 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 57.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 66.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 18th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 18th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MPC shares. Weiss Ratings raised Marathon Petroleum from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $560.00 to $564.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $453.00 to $458.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. UBS Group set a $510.00 price target on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Evercore set a $330.00 price objective on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $425.12.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, insider Molly Benson sold 17,196 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.57, for a total transaction of $6,165,969.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,876,862.38. The trade was a 36.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Erin M. Brzezinski sold 570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $362.79, for a total transaction of $206,790.30. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 1,576 shares in the company, valued at $571,757.04. This represents a 26.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 21,691 shares of company stock valued at $7,780,127 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Profile

Marathon Petroleum Corporation is an integrated downstream energy company focused on refining, marketing, and transporting petroleum products. Its refineries produce fuels and other products, including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt, and petrochemical feedstocks.

The company sells transportation fuels and related products through a network of branded locations and other wholesale and commercial channels, primarily in the United States. Its midstream operations, conducted largely through its affiliated partnership MPLX, include gathering, processing, and transporting natural gas and natural gas liquids, as well as storing and transporting crude oil and refined products.

Marathon Petroleum was established as an independent company in 2011, when it was spun off from Marathon Oil Corporation.