Cherokee Insurance Co Takes Position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Cherokee Insurance Co purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 41,558 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,903,000. Marathon Petroleum accounts for about 3.0% of Cherokee Insurance Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 3.9% in the second quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 1,684 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 4.2% in the second quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 1,577 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. AdvisorShares Investments LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 2,828 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 21,904 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,639,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, insider Molly R. Benson sold 10,879 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total value of $1,773,277.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 28,700 shares in the company, valued at $4,678,100. This trade represents a 27.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $196.60 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market cap of $59.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $188.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.44. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $115.10 and a fifty-two week high of $202.25.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas company reported $3.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.01. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.76%. The firm had revenue of $34.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.06 billion. On average, analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 38.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MPC. Mizuho raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $184.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $176.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $200.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.00.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.