Prudential PLC Reduces Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Prudential PLC cut its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 20.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,654 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,672 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,486,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 78.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,961,503 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,389,630,000 after buying an additional 4,367,774 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth $453,427,000. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 37.4% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,436,704 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $480,501,000 after purchasing an additional 935,042 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $495,595,000 after buying an additional 647,045 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $75,757,000 after buying an additional 501,441 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MPC shares. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $193.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Mizuho lowered 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Evan Bayh purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 approximately $9,266,078.50. This represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired 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 directly owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,638,464.64. The trade was a 19.68 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:MPC opened at $121.02 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $37.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.04. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $112.74 and a twelve month high of $219.74. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $147.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $150.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion for 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 business’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.98 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

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.