Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Raises Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 118.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,355 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,902 shares during the quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $794,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Gleason Group Inc. lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 75.2% during the third quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 191 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MPC. StockNews.com raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 9th. Bank of America increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.77.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $202.42 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $188.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $164.38. The stock has a market cap of $72.94 billion, a PE ratio of 8.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.52. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $104.32 and a 1-year high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $1.77. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 30.58% and a net margin of 6.44%. The firm had revenue of $36.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.65 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 17.53 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.35, for a total value of $170,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,994,026.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Company 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.