Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Decreases Position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund cut its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,281 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $5,253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Northstar Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 39.3% during the second quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Privium Fund Management UK Ltd acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 2nd quarter worth $348,000. Midland Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 16.3% in the 2nd quarter. Midland Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.1% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Family Office LLC now owns 4,051 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $703,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allegheny Financial Group LTD increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 5.6% during the second quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD now owns 7,719 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,339,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MPC. StockNews.com lowered Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $222.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $198.38.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MPC opened at $171.75 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $171.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $180.32. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $139.32 and a 52-week high of $221.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.40.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $1.03. The business had revenue of $38.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.66 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 24.05% and a net margin of 4.79%. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.32 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 12.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.48%.

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.