2,543 Shares in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC Acquired by LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC

LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,543 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $650,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter worth $27,000. Navalign LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter worth about $33,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MPC shares. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $321.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $344.00 to $359.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. 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. Jefferies Financial Group set a $335.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Evercore set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $312.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 27.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $875,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 12,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,416,650. The trade was a 16.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $358.71 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $161.93 and a fifty-two week high of $367.60. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $295.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $253.47. The stock has a market cap of $104.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $17.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $14.27 by $3.46. The firm had revenue of $51.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.87 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 31.96%. The business’s revenue was up 53.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.96 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 46.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 13.75%.

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.