Shell Asset Management Co. Increases Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Shell Asset Management Co. increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 65.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,067 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,012 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $1,021,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 400.0% in the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Wellington Shields & Co. LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MPC shares. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $207.00 to $191.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $201.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Barclays lowered their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $223.00 to $196.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.64.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $172.65 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $171.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.91. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $128.07 and a 12 month high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $32.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.07 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 25.87% and a net margin of 5.32%. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 13.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas company to buy up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

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.