State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Lowers Stock Holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owns a $15.82 million stake in Marathon Petroleum Corporation, having reduced its holdings by 12.5% in the latest quarter.
• Marathon Petroleum's quarterly earnings report showed earnings per share of $3.96, exceeding analysts' expectations of $3.22, with revenues also surpassing targets.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.2% and a payout ratio of 54.01%.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its holdings in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) by 12.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 108,607 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 15,538 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $15,823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1,546.2% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 214 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. raised its position in Marathon Petroleum by 1,621.4% in the first quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 241 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Finally, Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Performance

Marathon Petroleum stock traded down $1.1910 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $164.6290. 1,292,072 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,623,677. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a twelve month low of $115.10 and a twelve month high of $183.10. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $169.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $154.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market cap of $50.05 billion, a PE ratio of 24.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research downgraded Marathon Petroleum from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays boosted 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. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $190.00 to $182.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $144.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Friday, July 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $185.29.

Insider Activity at Marathon Petroleum

In other news, insider Molly R. Benson sold 10,879 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total value of $1,773,277.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 28,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,678,100. The trade was a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 7,392 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,293,600.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,315,200. The trade was a 28.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.