Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Sells 1,171 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund cut its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,520 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,171 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $3,839,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sitrin Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Sitrin Capital Management LLC now owns 31,826 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,440,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 3,500 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,271 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $4,600,000. Finally, Horizon Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,842 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. 76.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Transactions at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of MPC stock opened at $146.23 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $130.54 and a 1 year high of $221.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $147.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.41.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $33.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.94 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The company’s 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 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.