Prudential PLC Purchases 64,076 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Prudential PLC lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 1,204.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,398 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 64,076 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $11,286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth $2,891,000. Diversified Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 15,675 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,549,000 after purchasing an additional 4,419 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth $1,004,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth $791,000. Finally, KKM Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. KKM Financial LLC now owns 26,202 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,050,000 after purchasing an additional 5,661 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 1.8%

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $262.26 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $242.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $210.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.18. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a one year low of $158.00 and a one year high of $272.46. The stock has a market cap of $76.56 billion, a PE ratio of 17.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 0.52.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.91. The business had revenue of $34.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 3.36%.The company’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.24) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 30.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $257.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group set a $285.00 price target on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Bank of America increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $224.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $268.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,810 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.78, for a total value of $406,851.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold 4,473 shares of company stock valued at $1,015,428 over the last quarter. 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.