Strs Ohio Takes Position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation $MPC

Key Points

• Strs Ohio invested approximately $10.47 million in Marathon Petroleum Corporation, acquiring 71,870 shares in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Boston Partners, have increased their stakes in Marathon Petroleum, suggesting strong institutional support.
• Marathon Petroleum reported earnings of $3.96 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, despite a 11.1% decline in year-over-year revenue.

Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 71,870 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $10,471,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1,546.2% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 214 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 1,621.4% during the 1st quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 241 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MPC shares. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $184.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $195.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $160.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Marathon Petroleum from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $189.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Petroleum news, Director Kim K.W. Rucker sold 7,392 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Molly R. Benson sold 10,879 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.00, for a total transaction of $1,773,277.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 28,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,678,100. This trade represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:MPC traded down $0.76 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $183.92. 339,820 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,537,616. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $55.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.97. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $173.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $157.84. Marathon Petroleum Corporation has a 1 year low of $115.10 and a 1 year high of $186.28.

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

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Marathon Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is 54.01%.

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.