Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC Shares Sold by Banque Cantonale Vaudoise

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise reduced its stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 81.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,663 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 7,110 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $271,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $696,000 after buying an additional 1,178 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 38.3% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,697 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,889,000 after buying an additional 7,396 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 26.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,221 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,505,000. Finally, AXA S.A. increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 46.7% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 39,675 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,590,000 after buying an additional 12,639 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $255.22 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 52 week low of $155.93 and a 52 week high of $264.14. The company’s 50 day moving average is $238.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $205.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The company has a market cap of $74.51 billion, a PE ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.53.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.91. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The company had revenue of $34.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.24) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 29.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $264.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.44.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,626 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.18, for a total value of $371,020.68. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,717,054.50. This represents a 17.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,473 shares of company stock valued at $1,015,428. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.