Cherokee Insurance Co Reduces Stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Cherokee Insurance Co lessened its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 10.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 37,058 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 4,500 shares during the quarter. Marathon Petroleum comprises about 3.4% of Cherokee Insurance Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Cherokee Insurance Co’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $9,049,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MPC. Navalign LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total transaction of $1,703,243.52. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 16,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,543,058. This represents a 27.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $266.50 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $252.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $218.93. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a one year low of $158.00 and a one 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. The firm has a market cap of $77.80 billion, a PE ratio of 17.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 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 the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.91. The firm had revenue of $34.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 3.36%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.24) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 32.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 26.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on MPC. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $224.00 to $260.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $264.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $272.62.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.