Live Oak Investment Partners Invests $707,000 in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Live Oak Investment Partners bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 2,764 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $707,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Main Street Group LTD acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Navalign LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $289.00 to $321.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Evercore set a $330.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $257.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $344.00 to $359.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $291.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $312.50.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total value of $1,703,243.52. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 16,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,543,058. The trade was a 27.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Shawn M. Lyon sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $875,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 12,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,416,650. This trade represents a 16.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $361.02 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $293.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $252.19. The stock has a market cap of $105.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.41, a PEG ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.52. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 12-month low of $161.93 and a 12-month high of $367.24.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $17.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $14.27 by $3.46. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 31.96%. The firm had revenue of $51.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.87 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.96 EPS. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was up 53.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 46.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 13.75%.

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.