C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. Invests $432,000 in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 1,691 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $432,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Navalign LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, SVP Shawn M. Lyon sold 2,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 12,619 shares in the company, valued at $4,416,650. This trade represents a 16.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 16,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE:MPC opened at $362.18 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 12-month low of $161.93 and a 12-month high of $367.60. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $297.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $254.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.52.

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

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MPC. Evercore set a $330.00 price target on Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $321.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $291.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $344.00 to $359.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $312.50.

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.