American Century Companies Inc. Sells 52,256 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 15.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 285,108 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 52,256 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.09% of Marathon Petroleum worth $39,773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SWS Partners grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. SWS Partners now owns 17,577 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,452,000 after acquiring an additional 2,806 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1,204.8% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 543,062 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $75,757,000 after purchasing an additional 501,441 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,275 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,466,000 after purchasing an additional 18,764 shares in the last quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 161,171 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $22,483,000 after buying an additional 5,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 91,256 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $12,730,000 after buying an additional 2,892 shares during the period. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.7 %

MPC traded up $1.00 on Tuesday, hitting $146.69. 1,898,804 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,645,228. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $151.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.70 billion, a PE ratio of 14.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $130.54 and a 12 month high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The business's revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.98 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share 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 $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MPC shares. Barclays upped their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $180.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Evan Bayh purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at $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 acquired 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchase, the insider now directly owns 12,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.