Feared Activist Investor Paul Singer’s Top 5 Stocks for 2022

2. Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE:MPC)

Value of Elliott Management‘s 13F Position: $946 million

Number of Hedge Fund Shareholders (as of March 31): 44

Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE:MPC), which has featured prominently in Elliott Management’s 13F portfolio since mid-2019, ranks second as of March 31. Elliott raised its stake in the refiner by 5% during Q1, lifting his holding to nearly 11.1 million shares. Hedge funds have been slow to buy back into MPC after abandoning the stock in droves in 2020.

Elliott began pressuring Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE:MPC) shortly after building its stake in the company, asserting that shareholders would be better served financially if the company were split in three. Elliott believed as much as $22 billion in shareholder value could be unlocked through such a move, creating three strong, independent companies that would be leaders in their fields.

Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE:MPC) launched several strategic initiatives in October 2019, including the separation of its convenience store operations as well as forming a committee to explore options for its midstream business. The company also agreed to initiate a search for a new CEO. Michael J. Hennigan took over as CEO from Gary Heminger less than six months later.