Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Decreases Stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lessened its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 218,812 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,927 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $35,647,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 342.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,593,729 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $911,274,000 after buying an additional 4,328,470 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 4,286,892 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $743,690,000 after purchasing an additional 107,915 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 8.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,905,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $473,353,000 after buying an additional 235,795 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 45.4% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,329,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $217,560,000 after buying an additional 415,368 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 19,153.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,311,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $213,605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304,372 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 1.4 %

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $153.01 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $165.70. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $141.45 and a 52-week high of $221.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $49.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.40.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The business had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The firm’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $8.14 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Petroleum

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Jeffrey C. Campbell purchased 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $149.61 per share, with a total value of $897,660.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $911,124.90. The trade was a 6,666.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MPC. Mizuho reduced their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. cut shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Tudor Pickering downgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.27.

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.