Franklin Resources Inc. Has $78.60 Million Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 563,465 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 80,055 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.18% of Marathon Petroleum worth $78,603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora lifted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 994 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 2,068 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,271 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. American Trust boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. American Trust now owns 1,397 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 395 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Evan Bayh acquired 1,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $133.70 per share, with a total value of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 acquisition 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 the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. This represents a 19.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE MPC traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $121.35. 3,022,347 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,654,711. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $112.74 and a 12 month high of $219.74. The company has a market capitalization of $37.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.58.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The firm 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is 36.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MPC. Tudor Pickering raised Marathon Petroleum from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $193.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned 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 stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.