Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 7.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,900 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $3,452,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MPC. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 400.0% in the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the first quarter worth about $29,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MPC shares. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $201.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $222.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.38.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock traded up $2.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $173.79. 570,479 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,621,107. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $171.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $180.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $139.32 and a twelve month high of $221.11. The company has a market cap of $61.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.40.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $1.03. The firm had revenue of $38.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.66 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 25.87% and a net margin of 5.32%. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.32 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 13.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to purchase up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 16.48%.

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.