Sandy Spring Bank raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC – Get Rating) by 914.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,664 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $411,853,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 21.9% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,481,878 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,067,202,000 after buying an additional 2,244,421 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 22,119.1% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,227,468 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $190,449,000 after buying an additional 2,217,443 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 39.0% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,695,296 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $572,449,000 after buying an additional 1,878,976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 89.1% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,431,767 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $122,416,000 after buying an additional 674,456 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 3rd. Cowen raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum to $129.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 20th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $117.00 to $116.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $116.54.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 3.5 %

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 2nd. The oil and gas company reported $10.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.98 by $5.63. The business had revenue of $54.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.26 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.09% and a return on equity of 23.85%. The company's revenue was up 82.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. Research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 21.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 17th were paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 16th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.68%.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, SVP Suzanne Gagle sold 35,174 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.57, for a total value of $3,291,231.18. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,996 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,116,705.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Marathon Petroleum news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 14,353 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.41, for a total value of $1,512,949.73. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $829,892.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Suzanne Gagle sold 35,174 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.57, for a total transaction of $3,291,231.18. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,996 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,116,705.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Profile

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Marathon Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated downstream energy company primarily in the United States. It operates in two segments, Refining & Marketing, and Midstream. 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.

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