Inside MPC’s Institutional Holdings

Marathon Petroleum’s (MPC) institutional holdings currently stand at ~81%. The level of these holdings suggests that the confidence level or the sentiment that sophisticated market-playing institutions have toward a stock. Usually, everything else being equal, higher institutional holdings indicate a favorable opinion about a stock.

MPC peers Tesoro (TSO) and Valero Energy (VLO) have high institutional ownership standings at 95% and 81%, respectively, while Phillips 66’s (PSX) institutional ownership stands at 71%, which is lower than MPC’s holdings.

Notably, if you are looking for exposure to refining sector stocks, you might consider the Vanguard Energy ETF (VDE), which has ~8% exposure to the sector.

For a better understanding of what’s happening with Marathon Petroleum now, however, we’ll need to take a look at the stock’s implied volatility. Continue to the next part for the discussion.