Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 16,622 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 513,792 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,622 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $73,339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Korea Investment CORP boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 256,928 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $35,841,000 after acquiring an additional 13,362 shares during the last quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $837,000. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 2,244 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 607 shares during the period. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 45.9% during the fourth quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 2,150 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,128 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MPC. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho cut their target price 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. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.21.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE MPC opened at $144.05 on Friday. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $148.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $151.59. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $130.54 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The firm has a market cap of $44.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Marathon Petroleum 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.