Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) by 81.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 170,589 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 76,762 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.06% of Marathon Petroleum worth $32,879,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MPC. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,891,000. First Interstate Bank purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the third quarter valued at about $5,050,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 36.8% during the third quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 41,225 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,946,000 after buying an additional 11,082 shares during the period. National Pension Service raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 1.7% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 849,268 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $163,688,000 after buying an additional 14,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $1,004,000. 76.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $229.36 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market cap of $67.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.69. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $194.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $188.67. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 52 week low of $115.10 and a 52 week high of $236.10.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $4.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $32.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.89 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 2.99%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Corporation 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 Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on MPC shares. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ricky D. Hessling sold 1,810 shares of Marathon Petroleum 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,290,058.64. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.