ARS Investment Partners LLC Sells 18,505 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

ARS Investment Partners LLC cut its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 15.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 100,897 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 18,505 shares during the quarter. Marathon Petroleum accounts for approximately 1.3% of ARS Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. ARS Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $19,447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 290.2% during the 2nd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 160 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 103.1% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 199 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $220.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $184.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $214.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $203.07.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.4%

MPC opened at $165.73 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $49.82 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.72. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a twelve month low of $115.10 and a twelve month high of $202.29. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $188.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas company reported $3.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.01. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 9.76% and a net margin of 2.13%.The company had revenue of $34.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.06 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 42.64%.

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.