Public Sector Pension Investment Board Sells 36,870 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC)

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board reduced its stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation by 30.4%, selling 36,870 shares and leaving them with 84,500 shares valued at $12.31 million.
• Marathon Petroleum announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 2.3%, with a payout ratio of 54.01%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Marathon Petroleum, with the consensus rating being "Hold" and a target price of $185.29, reflecting varied investor sentiment regarding the stock's performance.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board decreased its stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 30.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 84,500 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 36,870 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $12,311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,655 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $928,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Sunpointe LLC grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 5.1% during the first quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its position in Marathon Petroleum by 2.3% during the first quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 3,801 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $554,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 6.2% during the first quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudent Man Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 2.3% during the first quarter. Prudent Man Advisors LLC now owns 4,056 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock traded up $0.09 on Friday, hitting $162.41. 1,831,442 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,652,624. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $169.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.38 billion, a PE ratio of 24.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.90. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a one year low of $115.10 and a one year high of $183.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $3.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.74. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 1.58% and a return on equity of 8.38%. The company had revenue of $34.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.12 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Corporation will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on MPC. Barclays lifted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective (up from $180.00) on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research downgraded Marathon Petroleum from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Marathon Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Marathon Petroleum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $185.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 7,392 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $1,293,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,944 shares in the company, valued at $3,315,200. This represents a 28.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum 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.