Blue Capital Inc. Takes $2.34 Million Position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Blue Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 14,078 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,338,000. Marathon Petroleum makes up about 1.7% of Blue Capital Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 27,979.8% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 659,595 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $109,565,000 after purchasing an additional 657,246 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 13.5% in the second quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 2,439 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter valued at $532,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 53.4% during the second quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 107,773 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $17,902,000 after buying an additional 37,521 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 6,930 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,151,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $185.63 on Friday. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 52-week low of $115.10 and a 52-week high of $202.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a fifty day moving average of $191.05 and a 200-day moving average of $179.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas company reported $3.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.01. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.76%. The company had revenue of $34.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.06 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 19th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on MPC. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $203.79.

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.