Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Lowers Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC cut its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 37.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 389,712 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 230,816 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.12% of Marathon Petroleum worth $54,365,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 44.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 15,865 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,585,000 after purchasing an additional 4,868 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,073,000. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 10.2% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 89,122 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $14,519,000 after buying an additional 8,283 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at about $782,000. Finally, Acropolis Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 4,368 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $712,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Ricky D. Hessling purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 $1,638,464.64. The trade was a 19.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing 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 on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. This 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 2.2 %

NYSE MPC opened at $144.05 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $44.88 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $130.54 and a twelve month high of $221.11. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $151.51.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.98 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. 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. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.