Sapient Capital LLC Sells 2,280 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Sapient Capital LLC cut its position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 62.9% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,342 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,280 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $343,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Solstein Capital LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter worth $26,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Navalign LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $389.86 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 52 week low of $161.93 and a 52 week high of $398.52. The stock has a market cap of $113.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.40, a PEG ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $322.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $266.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $17.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $14.27 by $3.46. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 31.96% and a net margin of 5.48%.The firm had revenue of $51.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 53.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 47.23 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Shawn Lyon sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $875,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 12,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,416,650. The trade was a 16.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Molly Benson sold 17,196 shares of Marathon Petroleum stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.57, for a total transaction of $6,165,969.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,334 shares in the company, valued at $10,876,862.38. This represents a 36.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,691 shares of company stock worth $7,780,127. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $357.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $233.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $224.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $303.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.44.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.