Polaris Capital Management LLC Sells 9,700 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Polaris Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 5.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 177,832 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 9,700 shares during the quarter. Marathon Petroleum accounts for 2.0% of Polaris Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Polaris Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $29,540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Good Steward Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at about $346,000. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at about $339,000. Financial Partners Group LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 65.8% in the first quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 3,937 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $574,000 after acquiring an additional 1,563 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 8.0% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 44,387 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,467,000 after acquiring an additional 3,291 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 128.0% in the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 8,663 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,262,000 after acquiring an additional 4,863 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Molly R. Benson sold 10,879 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total transaction of $1,773,277.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 28,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,678,100. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $170.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Citigroup upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $144.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $196.29.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:MPC opened at $193.31 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 12-month low of $115.10 and a 12-month high of $201.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $177.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $162.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.90.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $3.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.74. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 1.58%.The firm had revenue of $34.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.01%.

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.