Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 381,459 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 17,000 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.12% of Marathon Petroleum worth $53,214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $911,274,000 after acquiring an additional 4,328,470 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,552,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $495,595,000 after acquiring an additional 647,045 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $217,560,000 after acquiring an additional 415,368 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $213,605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 977,250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $159,204,000 after acquiring an additional 29,008 shares during the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

MPC stock opened at $156.79 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s 50-day moving average is $146.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.63. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $130.54 and a 1 year high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. Marathon Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.98 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MPC shares. Raymond James increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.27.

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.