Kentucky Retirement Systems Increases Stock Position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Kentucky Retirement Systems lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 28.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,853 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,559 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems' holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $6,069,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Navalign LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on MPC shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $224.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $291.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $344.00 target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $224.00 to $260.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $298.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Petroleum news, VP Michael A. Henschen II sold 6,336 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.82, for a total value of $1,703,243.52. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 16,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,543,058. The trade was a 27.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of MPC opened at $309.09 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 1-year low of $158.00 and a 1-year high of $326.92. The stock has a market cap of $90.24 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $271.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $235.89.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $34.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.24) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 43.19 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.11%.

Marathon Petroleum Company Profile

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.

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