Postrock Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 2,565 Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Postrock Partners LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 2,565 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $358,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 44.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 294 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth approximately $225,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 478,876 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $78,014,000 after buying an additional 49,523 shares during the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 6,279 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 6.3% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 6,315 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $136.82 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $148.39 and its 200 day moving average is $153.39. The company has a market capitalization of $42.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.78, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $130.54 and a twelve month high of $221.11. 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 (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The company’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.98 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors 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 2.66%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their target price 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. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

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