Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Grows Stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY increased its position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 6.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,097 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,958 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $11,500,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Navalign LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $249.13 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $72.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 0.52. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 1-year low of $158.00 and a 1-year high of $272.46. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $246.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $215.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $34.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.24) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 31.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 26.11%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total transaction of $1,703,243.52. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 16,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,543,058. This trade represents a 27.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MPC. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $243.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $197.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $257.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $264.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $272.94.

Marathon Petroleum 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.