State of Michigan Retirement System Sells 3,100 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

State of Michigan Retirement System decreased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 100,810 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 3,100 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $20,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,153,636 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $764,526,000 after purchasing an additional 137,341 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 4,102,057 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $608,581,000 after acquiring an additional 96,753 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $500,685,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,341,364 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $347,365,000 after acquiring an additional 178,502 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 969,120 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $143,779,000 after purchasing an additional 26,941 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $227.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $186.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.31.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $174.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.70, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $112.82 and a one year high of $221.11. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $178.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $176.13.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.25. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 25.87%. The business had revenue of $32.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.09 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 17.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.48%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.