Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Lowers Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP cut its Marathon Petroleum stake by 7.8% in the first quarter, selling 260,288 shares and leaving it with about 3.09 million shares valued at roughly $754.1 million.
• Marathon Petroleum posted a strong quarterly earnings beat, with $1.65 EPS versus the $0.74 consensus and revenue of $34.2 billion, up 8.5% year over year.
• The company also returned cash to shareholders with a $1.00 quarterly dividend paid in June, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $283.56.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,087,982 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 260,288 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.05% of Marathon Petroleum worth $754,105,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Diversified Trust Co. increased its position in Marathon Petroleum by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 15,675 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,549,000 after purchasing an additional 4,419 shares during the period. North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,714,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $791,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 570.7% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 168,644 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $41,180,000 after buying an additional 143,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 31.0% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 213,545 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $52,146,000 after acquiring an additional 50,521 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of MPC stock opened at $312.74 on Monday. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $158.00 and a fifty-two week high of $313.15. The stock has a market cap of $91.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $262.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $227.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.91. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 3.36%.The business had revenue of $34.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.24) EPS. The business's revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 35.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Marathon Petroleum's payout ratio is presently 26.11%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total value of $1,703,243.52. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 16,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,543,058. This represents a 27.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $224.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $344.00 price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $264.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $335.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $283.56.

About Marathon Petroleum

Marathon Petroleum Corporation NYSE: MPC is a U.S.-based downstream energy company engaged principally in the refining, marketing, supply and transportation of petroleum products. The company was formed through a spin-off from Marathon Oil in 2011 and operates an integrated system of refining and logistics assets that support the production and distribution of transportation fuels and other refined petroleum products.

Marathon Petroleum's operations include refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and other specialty products, as well as managing the distribution and storage infrastructure needed to move those products to market.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.