Hurley Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 7,240 Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 7,240 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,034,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MPC. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 762.9% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 302 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC stock opened at $121.02 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $147.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $115.97 and a one year high of $221.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.98 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ricky D. Hessling acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $134.72 per share, with a total value of $269,440.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,638,464.64. This trade represents a 19.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Evan Bayh bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. This trade represents a 1.46 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MPC. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.29.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

Marathon Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated downstream energy company primarily in the United States. The company operates through Refining & Marketing, and Midstream segments. The Refining & Marketing segment refines crude oil and other feedstocks at its refineries in the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent, and West Coast regions of the United States; and purchases refined products and ethanol for resale and distributes refined products, including renewable diesel, through transportation, storage, distribution, and marketing services.