Petra Financial Advisors Inc. Takes $715,000 Position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Petra Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $715,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MPC. Main Street Group LTD bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth $40,000. Navalign LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE MPC opened at $319.79 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $93.36 billion, a PE ratio of 20.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.18. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 52-week low of $158.00 and a 52-week high of $321.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $264.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $229.97.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.91. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The firm had revenue of $34.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.24) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 35.82 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on MPC shares. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $344.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Monday, June 15th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $315.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $335.00 target price on Marathon Petroleum and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $321.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $233.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $286.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Petroleum news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total transaction of $1,703,243.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 16,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,543,058. This represents a 27.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Profile

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.