Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Purchases 2,590 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 88.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,533 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,590 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $900,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Navalign LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 1.8%

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $262.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a one year low of $158.00 and a one year high of $272.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.56 billion, a PE ratio of 17.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s fifty day moving average is $242.90 and its 200 day moving average is $210.01.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.91. The business had revenue of $34.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 3.36%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.24) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 30.05 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.11%.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.78, for a total value of $406,851.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,290,058.64. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 4,473 shares of company stock valued at $1,015,428 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MPC. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $279.00 to $296.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Marathon Petroleum to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.50.

Marathon Petroleum Profile

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: MPC) is a U.S.-based downstream energy company engaged principally in the refining, marketing, supply and transportation of petroleum products. The company was formed through a spin-off from Marathon Oil in 2011 and operates an integrated system of refining and logistics assets that support the production and distribution of transportation fuels and other refined petroleum products.

Marathon Petroleum’s operations include refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and other specialty products, as well as managing the distribution and storage infrastructure needed to move those products to market.