Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Decreases Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. reduced its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 44.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,075 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 6,501 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $911,274,000 after buying an additional 4,328,470 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,803,951 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $670,151,000 after acquiring an additional 315,786 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $495,595,000 after acquiring an additional 647,045 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 37.4% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,436,704 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $480,501,000 after purchasing an additional 935,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,807,566 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $398,388,000 after purchasing an additional 428,708 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $149.63 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $149.01 and a 200 day moving average of $151.76. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $130.54 and a 12 month high of $221.11.

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

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, insider Ricky D. Hessling acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $134.72 per share, with a total value of $269,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. This trade represents a 19.68 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Evan Bayh bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,266,078.50. The trade was 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 company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MPC shares. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.21.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.