MetLife Investment Management LLC Trims Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

MetLife Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,295 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,037 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $11,899,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Evan Bayh bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 69,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. The trade was a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling purchased 2,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $127.55 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $39.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $140.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $115.10 and a 12-month high of $201.36.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.98 EPS. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $169.00 to $147.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $161.00 to $141.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $193.00 to $183.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.79.

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.