Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Cuts Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. trimmed its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 37.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,239 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 24,247 shares during the period. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.'s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $5,613,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SWS Partners raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. SWS Partners now owns 17,577 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,452,000 after acquiring an additional 2,806 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position 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 worth $75,757,000 after purchasing an additional 501,441 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 747.3% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,275 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,466,000 after purchasing an additional 18,764 shares during the last quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 161,171 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $22,483,000 after buying an additional 5,476 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 4,227.5% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,759 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $11,364,000 after buying an additional 68,147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $156.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $182.13.

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Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, insider Ricky D. Hessling purchased 2,000 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Evan Bayh purchased 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 69,305 shares in the company, valued at $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. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC opened at $146.00 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $45.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $152.54. 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 quarterly 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. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.98 EPS. Marathon Petroleum's quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.

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