NFJ Investment Group LLC Makes New $43.11 Million Investment in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 168,617 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,110,000. Marathon Petroleum comprises 1.5% of NFJ Investment Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. NFJ Investment Group LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Marathon Petroleum at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MPC. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Navalign LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on MPC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $257.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore set a $330.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $343.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $291.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $312.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Shawn M. Lyon sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $875,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 12,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,416,650. The trade was a 16.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total value of $1,703,243.52. Following the sale, the vice president owned 16,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,543,058. This trade represents a 27.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC opened at $358.71 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $104.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a PEG ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $295.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $253.47. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 12-month low of $161.93 and a 12-month high of $367.60.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $17.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $14.27 by $3.46. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 31.96%. The business had revenue of $51.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.96 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 53.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 46.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.75%.

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.