Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 93.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,150 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 15,578 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $2,891,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 459.5% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 189,973 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $31,556,000 after buying an additional 156,019 shares during the last quarter. First Interstate Bank acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,050,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 41,225 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,946,000 after acquiring an additional 11,082 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1.7% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 849,268 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $163,688,000 after acquiring an additional 14,308 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $197.94 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.50 billion, a PE ratio of 14.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $182.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $184.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.32. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a one year low of $115.10 and a one year high of $210.32.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $4.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.34. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 14.00% and a net margin of 2.99%.The business had revenue of $32.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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 will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on MPC. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $174.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.19.

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.