Cerity Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 197,590 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,165 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $32,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth $2,891,000. Diversified Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 39.3% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 15,675 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,549,000 after buying 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 third quarter valued at $1,004,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at $791,000. Finally, KKM Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 27.6% during the third quarter. KKM Financial LLC now owns 26,202 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,050,000 after buying an additional 5,661 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Marathon Petroleum

Here are the key news stories impacting Marathon Petroleum this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Raymond James raised its price target on Marathon Petroleum to $300 from $285 and kept an outperform rating, signaling additional upside potential for MPC. Raymond James raises price target on Marathon Petroleum to 300 from 285
• Positive Sentiment: MPC was included on Zacks’ list of top growth and momentum stocks, reflecting strong earnings trends, favorable price action, and upbeat growth forecasts. Best Growth Stocks to Buy for June 10th
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted Marathon Petroleum as a beneficiary of tight fuel supply and strong refining margins, with one article noting MPC has rallied sharply over the past six months and still offers further upside. 2 Refining Stocks With 35%+ Upside in 6 Months Despite High Oil Prices
• Positive Sentiment: Marathon Petroleum’s strong recent earnings beat and dividend support continue to underpin investor confidence, with the company recently paying a $1.00 quarterly dividend. MarketBeat Marathon Petroleum stock page
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also an insider sale disclosed for VP Michael Henschen II, which may draw attention but does not necessarily change the company’s fundamentals. Marathon Petroleum VP Michael Henschen II Sells 6,336 Shares

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $197.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $270.38.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,717,054.50. This represents a 17.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total transaction 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 approximately $4,543,058. This trade represents a 27.27% 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 Trading Up 2.1%

NYSE MPC opened at $263.51 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $76.93 billion, a PE ratio of 17.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a fifty day moving average of $243.74 and a 200 day moving average of $211.55. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 1 year low of $158.00 and a 1 year high of $272.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted 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 during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.24) earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 30.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 26.11%.

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.