Swiss National Bank Sells 100,300 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Swiss National Bank decreased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 945,466 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 100,300 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $131,893,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. SWS Partners lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. SWS Partners now owns 17,577 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,452,000 after buying an additional 2,806 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,757,000 after acquiring an additional 501,441 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 27.7% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,174 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,033,000 after acquiring an additional 9,355 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,466,000 after acquiring an additional 18,764 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4,227.5% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,759 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,364,000 after purchasing an additional 68,147 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, insider Ricky D. Hessling purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. This trade represents a 19.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Evan Bayh acquired 1,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at $9,266,078.50. This trade represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.2 %

MPC stock opened at $136.82 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $148.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $153.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $130.54 and a twelve month high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MPC shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.00.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

Marathon Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated downstream energy company primarily in the United States. The company operates through Refining & Marketing, and Midstream segments. The Refining & Marketing segment refines crude oil and other feedstocks at its refineries in the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent, and West Coast regions of the United States; and purchases refined products and ethanol for resale and distributes refined products, including renewable diesel, through transportation, storage, distribution, and marketing services.