Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Buys New Shares in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 147,688 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $20,602,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 78.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,961,503 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,389,630,000 after purchasing an additional 4,367,774 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,803,951 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $670,151,000 after buying an additional 315,786 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $495,595,000 after acquiring an additional 647,045 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 37.4% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,436,704 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $480,501,000 after acquiring an additional 935,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,400,826 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $474,415,000 after acquiring an additional 88,901 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE MPC traded up $3.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $127.55. The company had a trading volume of 2,387,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,697,180. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $141.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $39.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.04. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $115.10 and a fifty-two week high of $203.06.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The business had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. Marathon Petroleum's quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.98 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.66%.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, insider Ricky D. Hessling acquired 2,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $134.72 per share, with a total value of $269,440.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 12,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,638,464.64. The trade was a 19.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Evan Bayh purchased 1,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 69,305 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. This represents a 1.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $161.00 to $141.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $185.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $169.00 to $147.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Raymond James cut their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $193.00 to $183.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $175.79.

Marathon Petroleum 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.