New York State Teachers Retirement System Trims Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 290,338 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 38,909 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $40,502,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $698,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. American Trust grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Trust now owns 1,397 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 395 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Partners Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 2,220 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $149.61 per share, for a total transaction of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on MPC shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Barclays cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.27.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE MPC opened at $156.11 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $145.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $157.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.72, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $130.54 and a 1-year high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 2.45%. Marathon Petroleum’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.98 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

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.