Saudi Central Bank Purchases 9,519 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Saudi Central Bank boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 85.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,615 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 9,519 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $5,271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,648,958,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,934,327 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,916,660,000 after acquiring an additional 47,896 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 2.3% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,305,428 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,214,522,000 after acquiring an additional 141,691 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,029,611,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $472,312,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $291.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $359.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Mizuho upped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $284.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $233.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $322.44.

Insider Activity

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Molly R. Benson sold 17,196 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.57, for a total transaction of $6,165,969.72. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 30,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,876,862.38. The trade was a 36.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Erin M. Brzezinski sold 570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $362.79, for a total transaction of $206,790.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 1,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $571,757.04. This trade represents a 26.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 21,691 shares of company stock valued at $7,780,127 over the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE MPC opened at $389.86 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $322.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $266.96. The stock has a market cap of $113.82 billion, a PE ratio of 13.40, a PEG ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.25. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $161.93 and a fifty-two week high of $398.52.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $17.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $14.27 by $3.46. The business had revenue of $51.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.87 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 31.96% and a net margin of 5.48%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 53.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.96 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 47.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.75%.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

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.