Securian Asset Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Securian Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 44.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,173 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 6,491 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 721.4% in the 4th quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 230 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MPC. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $243.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $205.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. UBS Group set a $285.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.25.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:MPC opened at $252.08 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $232.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $202.34. The company has a market cap of $73.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 52 week low of $154.65 and a 52 week high of $261.61.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.91. The business had revenue of $34.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.24) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 28.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 26.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,810 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.78, for a total value of $406,851.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,290,058.64. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 4,473 shares of company stock valued at $1,015,428 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

About Marathon Petroleum

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: MPC) is a U.S.-based downstream energy company engaged principally in the refining, marketing, supply and transportation of petroleum products. The company was formed through a spin-off from Marathon Oil in 2011 and operates an integrated system of refining and logistics assets that support the production and distribution of transportation fuels and other refined petroleum products.

Marathon Petroleum’s operations include refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and other specialty products, as well as managing the distribution and storage infrastructure needed to move those products to market.