Petra Financial Advisors Inc. Purchases Shares of 2,929 Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Petra Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $715,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Navalign LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 100 shares during the period. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of Marathon Petroleum 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 16,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,543,058. This trade represents a 27.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $257.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $224.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $233.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $286.19.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE MPC opened at $319.79 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 52 week low of $158.00 and a 52 week high of $321.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $264.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $229.97. The company has a market cap of $93.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.52.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.91. The company had revenue of $34.20 billion for 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%.Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.24) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 35.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.11%.

Marathon Petroleum 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.