Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Invests $4.82 Million in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 25,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,818,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MPC. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Transce3nd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 10,250.0% in the 2nd quarter. Transce3nd LLC now owns 207 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,037 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.08, for a total value of $237,555.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,151 shares in the company, valued at $2,096,311.08. This trade represents a 10.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $213.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $216.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.25.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 1.4%

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $229.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $67.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.69. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 1 year low of $115.10 and a 1 year high of $236.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $194.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $188.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $4.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $32.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.89 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 2.99%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.96%.

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.