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

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 381,459 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 17,000 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $53,214,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 10,660 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,487,000 after buying an additional 751 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,475 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $903,000 after buying an additional 1,306 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 111.6% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 1,491 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 27,800 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,878,000 after buying an additional 2,740 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 53,788 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,503,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 1.4 %

Marathon Petroleum 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. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $130.54 and a 1-year high of $221.11. The company has a market cap of $50.39 billion, a PE ratio of 15.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $146.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $156.63.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MPC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays lowered 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. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell bought 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $911,124.90. This trade represents a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.