Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 45,411 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Renaissance Technologies LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 25.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 135,699 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 45,411 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $18,930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 158.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 120,052 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $16,747,000 after purchasing an additional 73,577 shares in the last quarter. Canopy Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 80.2% during the fourth quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 6,738 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $940,000 after buying an additional 2,999 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,400,826 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $474,415,000 after buying an additional 88,901 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 193,920 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $27,550,000 after acquiring an additional 16,960 shares during the period. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,034,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on MPC. Barclays reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $161.00 to $141.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank lowered 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 research note on Friday, April 11th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. 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. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $175.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Evan Bayh purchased 1,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at $9,266,078.50. This represents a 1.46 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 12,162 shares of the company's stock, 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. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of MPC traded up $3.48 on Friday, reaching $127.55. The stock had a trading volume of 2,387,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,697,180. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $115.10 and a 12-month high of $203.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.85.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Marathon Petroleum's revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.98 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

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.